Israeli Troops Grab Palestinian Cop in West Bank

Israeli troops Friday arrested a Palestinian policeman as he tried to pass through an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian security source told AFP.

He said that soldiers detained Firas Abu Aziz, 27, as he was on his way home to the village of Yata, near the southern city of Hebron. The Israeli army could not confirm or deny the report.

Israeli troops had been looking for Abu Aziz and a previous attempt to arrest him earlier this month was aborted when Palestinians hurled stones at the Israeli force, which withdrew in what the army later said was to avoid civilian casualties, sparking a tirade of criticism in Israeli media.