Israel arrests 27 Palestinians in West Bank

Ramallah, March 25 Israeli forces arrested 27 Palestin, including two leaders of the Islamic Hamas movement, in the West Bank, according to sources here.

The Palestinian Prisoner's Club said in a statement that the Israeli forces carried out these arrests on Wednesday in the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Jenin, Bethlehem and the suburbs of East Jerusalem, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Jamal al-Taweel and Bajes Nakhla, are two senior Hamas leaders who were arrested from their homes near Ramallah," the statement said.

Hamas said in a statement that it condemned the development, adding that these arrests "won't block our determination to participate in the upcoming elections scheduled on May 22".

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli warplanes carried out aerial attacks on military facilities that belong to the Hamas in northern and central Gaza Strip, according to the movement's sources.

The Hamas sources said the rockets and missiles, which the Israeli warplanes fired, caused no injuries.

But severe damages were caused to several sites in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military sources said the strikes were carried out in retaliation to a rocket firing from the besieged enclave towards southern Israel on Tuesday night.

( With inputs from IANS )