Israeli intelligence services arrested a man believed to be from Northern Ireland after a tip-off from the British security services, it was reported today.
The Israeli government is not responding to questions about the case, but it is understood British intelligence informed the Israelis of the man's presence.
He apparently arrived three weeks ago as a tourist on a British passport atTel Aviv's main Ben-Gurion airport. Israeli sources said he entered thePalestinian territories shortly afterwards.
The hunt for him accelerated last week, and on Saturday roadblocks were set uparound Ramallah in a bid to catch him.
Late last night, Israel's Channel One, a State-run Israeli television station, reported the man had been arrested north of Jerusalem and that the Israeli internal security service, Shin Bet, was interrogating him.
The report said the authorities did not believe he had engaged in bomb-making in recent years.
Sources have told The Irish Timesthat in addition to being interrogated by the Israelis, the man is being sought by the British authorities.
They said that if the Israelis find no evidence he was involved in any wrongdoing in areas under their control, he will be handed over to the British.
There is unconfirmed speculation that dissident republicans may have been trying to sell their expertise in bomb-making, particularly mortar bombs, to Palestinian factions.