The Israeli army announced today the West Bank town of Ramallah was a closed military zone in a pre-emptive measure ahead of the Israeli-Palestinian-US summit in Jordan.
No one will be allowed to enter or exit the city, which was slapped with a curfew, the army said.
The army did not say when it would lift the measure, which comes only a day after Israel announced the easing of its closure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
That move, allowing Palestinians to head to work in Israel, was portrayed as a goodwill gesture before Wednesday's landmark summit in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas and US President George W. Bush.
Israeli troops patrolling Ramallah were on the hunt for a Palestinian militant, military sources said.
Earlier, public radio said the army had boosted its security procedures at the Kalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah, while Palestinians said soldiers were firing shots in the air to scare them away from the crossing.
Israel's domestic Shin Beth security service and the army have raised alarm about attacks ahead of US President George W. Bush's landmark regional tour, which aims to end the 32-month intifada, or Palestinian uprising.
AFP