Israeli armed forces say they have discovered a Palestinian guerrilla cell in the tiny village of Abu Dis, not far from Jerusalem.

SYNOPSIS: Israeli military authorities put Abu Dis -- a predominantly Arab village -- under curfew after discovering the underground hide-out on Thursday (25 January). An Army spokesman said eight people were arrested when they raided the cell, five kilometres (three miles) south east of Jerusalem.

The Israelis said the guerrilla cell was responsible for ten acts of sabotage -- including an explosion in the Mahane Yahuda Market in Jerusalem on June the twenty-ninth last year. Two people were killed in the blast.

The guerrillas were caught with loaded pistols and twenty slabs of highly explosive material. An israeli Army official, Brigadier General Benjamin Ben Eliezer, told newsmen that investigations would continue -- and more arrest could be made.