TEL AVIV – Israel today raided a military headquarters of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and arrested Fatah militia members wanted for carrying out terror attacks against the Jewish state.

Most of the terrorists arrested in today's raid were members of Fatah's intelligence unit, which received U.S. weapons shipments in recent months and was slated to be infused with funds from a pending $86 million American grant, WND has learned.

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Earlier today, Israeli Defense Forces surrounded a Fatah intelligence building in the northern West Bank city of Ramallah, shooting in the air and calling on suspected terrorists inside to surrender. Troops fired stun grenades and then entered the compound after militants inside refused to exit, seizing 18 men on Israel's wanted list of terrorists, Israeli officials said.

Sixteen of the 18 men were officers of Fatah's intelligence unit and were also openly members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror organization, Fatah's so-called military wing, according to Israeli and Palestinian security officials.

The Brigades fugitives regularly sleep in the intelligence building, Israeli officials said. The fugitives are suspected of carrying out shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, and attempting to kidnap Israeli citizens, an IDF spokeswoman said.

Together with the Islamic Jihad group, Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the last two years, including a bombing two weeks ago in Eilat and an attack in Tel Aviv last April that killed eight Israelis and American teenager Daniel Wultz.

While the IDF today raided one Fatah intelligence building in Ramallah, it didn't enter an adjacent intelligence building run by Fatah intelligence chief Tafiq Tarawi, even though the Israeli army had information several more wanted terrorists were inside, Israeli security officials told WND. According to the officials, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had earlier pledged to Abbas Israel would not disrupt Tarawi's work.

The Fatah intelligence unit, for which the militants arrested in today's raid worked, previously received arms from shipments of U.S. weapons sent to Fatah in recent months, including a shipment of 7,000 assault rifles delivered in January, Palestinian security sources told WND. The sources said no American weapons have been received since Fatah signed a unity agreement with Hamas last month.

The intelligence branch was also slated to receive funding from an $86.4 million grant the Bush administration had pledged in January to strengthen the Fatah security forces. The grant was put on hold last month by Congressional leaders who asked the State Department to clarify whether Palestinians terror groups might receive some of the funding.

While the aid is being temporarily blocked, it wasn't immediately clear if U.S. weapons would continue to be transferred to Fatah.

The last American arms shipment to Fatah publicly confirmed by Israel took place in May. At first, the shipment, consisting of 3,000 rifles, was denied by the U.S. and Israel, but Olmert in June admitted the transfer took place, telling reporters, "I needed to approve the shipment to help bolster Abbas."

At the time, Abu Yousuf, a Fatah militant from Abba's Force 17 security forces, told WND while some of the weapons may be used in confrontations against Hamas, the bulk of the American arms would be utilized to "hit the Zionists." Force 17 serve as de facto police units in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

Abu Yousuf said if there is a major conflict with Israel, U.S. weapons provided to Fatah may be shared with other "Palestinian resistance organizations."

"The first place of these U.S. weapons will be to defend the Palestinian national project, which is reflected by the foundation of the Palestinian Authority. If Hamas or any other group under the influence of Iran and Syria wants to make a coup d'?tat against our institution, these weapons are there to defend the PA," said Abu Yousuf.

"We don't want to go to civil war with Hamas, because this is what both the U.S. and Israel want. This is our last option. We hope our brothers in Hamas won't oblige us to find ourselves in confrontation," Abu Yousuf said.

But the Fatah militant said the new American weapons may also be used to target Israelis. He admitted previous American arms supplied to Fatah were used in "resistance operations" against the Jewish state.

"If Israel will deliver what it promised to Abu Mazen (Abbas), [meaning a] withdrawal from Palestinian lands, including east Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, remove all the checkpoints in the West Bank, release our prisoners, and find a clear solution for our refugees, we'll control our forces and the distribution of weapons.

"But if Israel doesn't deliver, and we find ourselves manipulated by Israel, we cannot guarantee members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Force 17 will not use these weapons against Israel. Our goal is to change the occupation," said Abu Yousuf.

"Its unnatural to think these American weapons won't be used against the Israelis," he said.

Like some other Force 17 members, Abu Yousuf is openly also a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

All Brigades leaders are also members of Fatah. Abbas last June appointed senior Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leader Mahmoud Damra as commander of Force 17. Damra, who was arrested by Israel in November, was on the Jewish state's most-wanted list of terrorists.

Abu Yousuf said the American weapons shipments may be shared with other Palestinian terror groups. He said that during large confrontations with Israel, such as the Jewish state's 2002 anti-terror raid in Jenin, Fatah distributed weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

"We don't look where this piece or that piece of weapon came from when fighting the Israelis," Abu Yousuf said.

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