Israeli troops arrested 100 Palestinian women in an overnight raid Thursday, the latest in a series of round-ups around the West Bank city of Nablus.

　　Israeli troops stormed a village near Nablus early Thursday, arresting more than 100 women, local officials said.

　　Hundreds of troops entered Awarta shortly after midnight and imposed a curfew after which they began rounding up the women, local council head Tayis Awwad told AFP.

　　They continued to conduct house-to-house searches through the night, he said. Palestinian security sources confirmed the same information.

　　The Israeli army has been conducting frequent raids on the village for the past four weeks, arresting scores of villagers following last month's murders of a family living in the nearby settlement of Itamar.

　　No one has been charged so far, with the military refusing to comment on the detentions.

　　Meanwhile, Israeli military bulldozers have also razed down at least two Palestinian houses in the village of al-Aqaba.

　　PHOTO CAPTION

　　Israeli soldiers detaining a Palestinian man in the West Bank village of Beit Omar, near Hebron, Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

　　Source: Agencies