Six member of the resistance Islamic group Hamas were arrested by Israeli occupation troops in the northern West Bank town of Qalqilya during a brief occupation army incursion, Palestinian security sources told AFP.Mohammed Afani, 33, a wanted Hamas political activist was among those arrested. The other five men were rank-and-file Hamas members, the sources said Wednesday.

An occupation army spokesman said only five men had been arrested in Qalqilya and that they were "either on Israel's wanted list or wanted for questioning by the security services."

The spokesman said a total of 36 Palestinian men had been arrested throughout the night on the West Bank.

Qalqilya, like most West Bank towns except Bethlehem and Jericho, has been reoccupied by the occupation army since June 2002 in a bid to rid the area of armed groups after numerous Palestinian attacks rocked the Jewish state.

Mideast "roadmap" to be announced December 20: Jordanian FM

Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher said a "roadmap" for a settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was expected to be announced officially on December 20.

"The roadmap is supposed to be announced on December 20 in a meeting of the quartet that will be held at the ministerial level," Moasher told a group of foreign media representatives Wednesday.

He was speaking before heading off to Syria for a meeting of Arab foreign ministers that will focus on the initiative launched by the quartet which groups the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations.

The Damascus talks will also examine the Iraq crisis and the return of UN weapons inspectors to Baghdad, Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said Tuesday.

The foreign ministers also aim to adopt a joint position on the US-initiated roadmap, Hammoud said.

The peace plan calls for a provisional Palestinian state by next year and a definitive one by 2005. It also calls for an end to Palestinian attacks and an Israeli occupation army withdrawal from reoccupied Palestinian cities.

UN chief Kofi Annan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and foreign relations commissioner Chris Patten are expected to meet on the roadmap next month in Europe.

Hamas leader reiterates resistance attack policy

Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal reiterated his resistance Palestinian group's policy of carrying out resistance attacks on Israeli targets, but hinted at a possible shift in tactics.Meshaal, in an interview with the Arab-language daily Al-Hayat, was asked if Hamas would continue resistance attacks.

"Of course," he said Wednesday, "it is our legitimate right."Hamas, which rejects the right of the Jewish state to exist, "can resort to all forms of resistance (against Israeli occupation), and resistance attacks are part of that.

"But Hamas can modify its tactics according to its interests," he added, without elaborating.Even so, he insisted there is "currently no change in the movement's policy, which is based on the pursuit of resistance in all its forms, including resistance attacks.

"On November 16, Meshaal denied Hamas was considering halting resistance attacks and accused Israel of rejecting "initiatives" to arrive at a truce on the issue.In an interview published in the Arabic-language daily Asharq Al-Awsat, he said "Hamas' position has not changed and it consists of continuing the resistance until the end of the (Israeli) occupation.

"Is it logical to raise the banner of submission and to halt the resistance at a time when the occupation forces invade Gaza, Nablus and Tulkarem?" he asked.

He was commenting on press reports that Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement, during talks in Cairo earlier last week, was attempting to convince Hamas to halt resistance attacks against civilians inside Israel.

In the Al-Hayat interview, Meshaal denied Hamas had reached a secret agreement with Fatah, though he said a "three-month suspension of resistance atacks" had been discussed during the Cairo talks.Turning to a US-drafted "roadmap" for resuming peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Meshaal took issue with what he said was the prevailing view in Fatah and Arafat's Palestinian Authority that progress first required a period of calm on the ground.

"Our firm belief is different," he said. These initiatives "are not serious, do not carry guarantees and are unjust toward our people and have always been favorable to the Zionist entity (Israel)."He reaffirmed the Hamas goal of liberating all Arab territories occupied by Israel after it was created in 1948.The roadmap would allow for a de facto Palestinian state to be established next year with temporary borders, with final frontiers being set by 2005.

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