[originaltext] The Israeli Army has conducted a series of overnight raids in

The Israeli Army has conducted a series of overnight raids in the West Bank, arresting at least 50 Palestinian activists of the Islamic Jihad movement. It is said the group was failing to observe the truce agreed earlier this year. A spokesman for Islamic Jihad urged the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to cancel a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon due to take-place in Jerusalem today. The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepared the ground with a visit at the weekend. She urged the two men to coordinate Israel’s planned withdrawal of Jewish settlers from the occupied Gaza Strip. Bob P. reports from Jerusalem.
   "Israelis have now arrested some 50 Islamic Jihad activists, saying the group isn’t observing the truce. The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas wants guarantees that Palestinians will have free passage in and out of Gaza after the pullout. He almost certainly won’t get this. According to Israeli media, Ariel Sharon told Condoleezza Rice he wouldn’t remove the closure on Gaza, until and unless Mr. Abbas takes action against Palestinian militias. Palestinian officials have low expectations. They say they will press for the release of more prisoners and the lifting of more check-points in the West Bank."