Israeli Soldiers Round Up Hundreds of Arabs in Raids

The army made overnight raids throughout the occupied lands today, arresting hundreds of Palestinians in its latest strategy for ending a rebellion in which more than 100 Arabs and an Israeli soldier have been killed.

Arab reports said about 500 Palestinians were rounded up in the sweep. Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said 3,000 have been detained since riots began Dec. 8 in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The number of major protests and street battles has declined dramatically in recent days. Rabin credited tough Israeli policies of mass arrest and economic sanctions.

“The phenomenon of large violent demonstrations has been substantially reduced . . . as a result of the general activity of the army, the security forces, the riot police,” the defense minister told officers on a tour of Gaza. “We feel a certain tiredness among the (Arab) population.”

India Cancels Tennis Match

India protested Israel’s handling of the Arab rebellion by canceling a match in Israel by its Davis Cup tennis team scheduled for next month. It was the first such cancellation of a sports or entertainment event.

Gad Yacobi, Israel’s economy minister, said the violence and strikes have cost Israel more than $335 million in lost production, exports and added security expenses. He said the figure did not include losses to tourism and agriculture.

According to the Arab-run Palestine Press Service and Arabic daily Al Quds, soldiers detained about 500 Palestinians overnight, including 200 from Hebron and the nearby West Bank village of Dura.

Palestinian witnesses said the army sealed off villages and refugee camps after midnight, then went from house to house with lists of names. The Arab news agency said 80 people were arrested in Attil, 12 miles north of Nablus.

Mass Arrests Confirmed

Army spokesmen confirmed mass arrests overnight but would not give numbers.

An Israeli official said Rabin told a parliamentary committee that Israel has jailed 3,000 Arabs since Dec. 8, including 700 since Sunday.

He said that 1,000 more Arabs had been arrested and released. The official also confirmed a report in the daily Haaretz that the army planned to put 300 Arabs under administrative detention, meaning that they could be jailed for up to six months without trial.

A Palestine Liberation Organization leaflet circulated in the Gaza Strip said payments will be made to Arabs who lose family members, property or jobs because of clashes with Israeli soldiers.

It cited $2,900 for “martyrs” killed fighting soldiers, $600 for anyone arrested and $1,450 for a merchant unable to open his store because of a strike. Arab policemen who resigned would get $1,450 as a first payment, the leaflet said.