Palestinians arrest own officers in crackdown

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Palestinian Authority announced Thursday it had arrested 15 of its own security officers in a crackdown on terrorism following weeks of pressure from the United States, Israel and Europe.

As part of the crackdown, Palestinian security forces raided a house belonging to a senior Hamas leader, triggering a gunbattle with Hamas supporters in which one Palestinian was killed and 23 others were wounded, five seriously.

In Washington, the State Department noted some improvements have been made in Mideast security and urged Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to pursue a "sustained and effective effort" to end violence in the region.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher also urged the Israelis to take "steps to ease the hardships" of Palestinians.

"We've seen some positive steps so far. And we also believe that, as the Palestinians continue to take serious steps against the violence, that the Israelis, in fact, should take steps to ease the restrictions on the Palestinians," Boucher said.

The Palestinian Authority said it arrested the officers on suspicion they participated in attacks on Israelis. Israel has long maintained Palestinian security officers are among those carrying out the attacks.

Arafat has been under intense pressure to crack down on terrorists in territory under Palestinian control since a string of December attacks killed 35 Israelis.

Those terror bombings prompted the Israeli Cabinet to cut ties with Arafat and sanction retaliatory strikes on the West Bank and Gaza.

Israel has maintained Arafat bears responsibility for the attacks because he failed to take steps against the groups which claim to have carried them out.

The December attacks were the latest upsurge in 15 months of violence in which hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians have died.

Five of those wounded in the raid on the Gaza City home of Abdel Rantisi were Palestinian police, hospital sources told CNN.

Rantisi was the leader with the highest profile the Palestinian Authority has tried to arrest in its moves against terrorist suspects.

In the West Bank, Israeli Defense Forces officials said tanks in Nablus and deep inside Palestinian-controlled territory near the West Bank city of Ramallah had moved in a "tactical repositioning" but had not been withdrawn. The army took the positions after suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa two weeks ago.

A leading member of Hamas on the West Bank denied reports the group was considering suspending its suicide bomb attacks.

"No one can put an end to our right to resist the occupation," said Hassan Youssef.

"I am not aware of any decision taken by the Hamas movement, whether through a leaflet or an official statement that suicide operations have stopped, because such decisions are only made by the military wing of the Hamas," Youssef said.

The militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front have rejected Arafat's call for a cease-fire.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met in Washington with his special Mideast envoy, Gen. Anthony Zinni, to discuss strategy, but Boucher said there are no immediate plans to send Zinni back to the region.

"Gen. Zinni will return to the region when the secretary and he believe that his presence can be effective in moving toward a durable cease-fire," Boucher said.

-- CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna contributed to this report.