Israel army arrests 12 'Islamic Jihad militants'

Israeli troops arrested 12 suspected members of Islamic Jihad overnight near the northern West Bank town of Jenin, the army said on Tuesday. Palestinian security forces confirmed the arrests, saying two of those detained were women. In a statement, the military said it had detained 12 "senior activists in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad" in the West Bank. It said the 12 were "suspected of providing guidance in planning terror activities, as well as transferring finances and taking an active part in the rebuilding of terror networks in the region." The statement said the military had also ordered the closure of a local charity called Al Bara'a, accusing it of links to Islamic Jihad and a Gaza-based organisation called "The Soul of Jerusalem." The military said both "were declared illegal organisations as they operate constantly in order to harm the security of Israel's citizens and security forces." Palestinian security sources said the two women were both residents of the village of Ar-Rama, southwest of Jenin. One of the women was named as Mona Qaidan, a 40-year-old employee of Al Bara'a, who was freed in 2009 after serving three years in an Israeli prison, according to her family. Her brother, an Islamic Jihad leader, was arrested a month ago, the family added, a year after having completed an 11-year sentence in Israeli prison. The other woman, Saja Shibani, 22, is a student and works with an Islamic charitable association, her family told AFP. Earlier this month, the Israeli military arrested Islamic Jihad leader Bassam Saadi in Jenin refugee camp, just months after his March release after serving eight years in an Israeli prison.