Israelis Reopen Desert Prison Camp

KETZIOT, Israel (AP) -- Israel reopened a sprawling desert detention camp this week to hold some of the thousands of Palestinians it has rounded up during its 19-day West Bank sweep, an Israeli military official said Tuesday.

The confirmation came after Associated Press reporters saw resumed activity at the Ketziot camp in the southern Negev Desert. Towering spotlights beamed down on the site and soldiers stood in guard towers. Civilian and military trucks entered and left and bright new Israeli flags and corps banners of the military police hung limply in the baking desert air.

The Ketziot camp held thousands of Palestinians during the first Palestinian uprising, from 1987-93. At the time, prisoners were held 26 to a tent, exposed to searing heat in the summer and bone-chilling cold in the winter. It was closed in 1996.

The army declined comment on the camp's reopening.

In its current 19-day-old military offensive, Israel has detained 4,258 Palestinians, including suspected leaders of the Palestinian uprising, the army said.