Israeli army explodes barricades in W Bank town

NABLUS, West Bank, June 2 (Reuters) The Israeli army blew up several cement barriers in a raid in the West Bank town of Nablus atoday, causing minor injuries and damage to storefronts in a commercial centre, local witnesses said.

The barriers were used by Palestinian militants to prevent Israeli vehicles from driving through the streets, the witnesses said.

Nihad Masri, the acting mayor of Nablus, said a few people sustained minor injuries from the blasts in the old city.

''The Palestinians had put up huge concrete blocks so Israeli soldiers would not have access to operate in Nablus, which is a hotbed of terrorist activity,'' an Israeli army spokesman said.

Israeli forces frequently raid Palestinian towns in the West Bank looking for militants.

Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi said the army's action was ''a new crime coming in the context of Israeli escalation against the Palestinian Authority and people''.

Earlier today, Israeli troops arrested four Palestinians in the Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, security sources said. They said the four men were brothers, but did not give their affiliations.

The Israeli army said that four people had been taken in for questioning for firing rockets from Gaza into Israel, but all four had been released.

REUTERS SG ND1802