MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Israel arrested more than 150 Palestinians in an overnight sweep of the West Bank. Most are said to have ties to Hamas, that militant group that could make or break a possible truce. CNN's Matthew Chance joining us live now from Jerusalem for latest on this. Hello, Matthew.</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, Miles. And the Israeli army has detained, as you say, 150 Palestinians in a crackdown, what it says is a crackdown, on people with links to the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Most of those arrests taking place in the West Bank city of Hebron. Suspects detained in house to house searches, blindfolded, their hands cuffed before being taken away for questioning. Israeli officials say Hamas activists in he prone have been responsible for the killing of 52 Israeli citizens over the course of the past year. But of course, their decision -- the Israeli decision to crack down in this way at a time like this is a very controversial one, coming as it does as Hamas leaders apparently move toward declaring some kind of truce, an end, suspension, of their attacks against Israelis after intensive debates and discussions with the Palestinian Authority. Israel, though, clearly showing signs of its impatience. The arrests in Hebron follow the killing also in Hebron by Israeli forces of a senior Hamas member back on Saturday. That killing drawing criticism from Secretary of State Colin Powell, who said it may prove an impediment to progress. The latest arrests being criticized by Palestinian officials as well, saying they're not just undermining their authority, the Palestinian Authority, but also the possibility of the U.S.-backed road map peace plan, making any progress here -- Miles.</s>O'BRIEN: CNN's Matthew Chance in Jerusalem, thank you very much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com Sweep of West Bank>
Israel Arrests More Than 150 Palestinians in Overnight Sweep of West Bank