Israelis round up Palestinians in raid

Around 300 men were herded into a school in the Askar refugee camp in the east of the city after some 30 jeeps and armoured vehicles entered at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT), the sources said.

Troops then proceeded to carry out house-to-house searches as they imposed a curfew and ordered all males aged between 16 and 40 into the school compound.

There were no reports of clashes breaking out or details on the number of arrests.

There was no immediate comment on the operation by the Israeli military.

Meanwhile in the southern West Bank town of Bethlehem, a local leader of the the radical Palestinian al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and his brother had been detained during an operation near the local maternity hospital, sources on both sides said.

Rateb and Adnan Abayat were picked up in what an Israeli military source said was a "pinpointed operation targetting the terrorist infrastructure".

A machine gun, five assault rifles, a telescopic lens and amunition had been recovered during the operation, another source added.