Troops Isolate West Bank Town

Israeli troops isolated an occupied West Bank town today, closing roads, cutting telephone lines and arresting at least 120 Palestinians suspected of inciting riots, the army and Arab witnesses said.

During today’s operation in Kalkilya, 55 miles north of Jerusalem, troops discovered stashes of knives, hatchets, clubs and underground leaflets outlawed by Israeli authorities, an army spokesman said. Jewish settlers have charged that Palestinians from Kalkilya are key instigators of firebomb and stone-throwing attacks and complained they scattered nails on West Bank roads.