Israelis Arrest Hundreds in West Bank, Gaza

Israeli troops made overnight raids throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip on Wednesday, arresting hundreds of Palestinians in the latest strategy for ending a rebellion in which at least 101 Arabs and an Israeli soldier have been killed.

According to Arab press reports, soldiers detained about 500 Palestinians overnight, including 200 from Hebron and the nearby West Bank village of Dura and 80 from Attil, 12 miles north of Nablus.

Palestinian witnesses said the army sealed off villages and refugee camps after midnight, then went from house to house with lists of names.

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

Soldiers shot and wounded an Arab protester in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, officials at Shifa Hospital reported.

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

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir reported to the 10-member Inner Cabinet on his talks in Washington. A minister who attended said Shamir found no signs that the United States would yield to Israeli requests for changes in its Middle East peace proposal, which involve trading territory for peace.

Gad Yaacobi, the economic planning minister, said the violence and strikes have cost Israel more than $335 million in lost production, exports and security expenses.

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 resign would get $1,450 as a first payment, the leaflet said.

Israel limits the flow of money into the territories in an attempt to prevent such payments and other PLO financing of the rebellion.