"About 20 wanted Palestinians, most of whom live in the Ramallah area, were arrested this morning inside the muqata," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity using the Arabic term for Arafat's compound.

He said the men would be transferred to a prison in the West Bank city of Jericho, and that the arrangement had been made with the knowledge of the United States and Israel.

At least 14 of them were members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed offshoot of Arafat's Fatah movement, a spokesman for the group told AFP, saying the raid had taken place in the early hours.

The spokesman said he had been told by a senior Palestinian official that the arrests were made in accordance with an agreement with the United States.

He quoted the official as saying the prisoners would be transferred to jails in Jericho and the Gaza Strip.

The prisoners were currently being held in a temporary jail inside Arafat's compound, he said, adding that shortly after their arrest, they went on hunger strike, refusing either food or water in protest at their detention.

Last year, Israeli troops staged frequent raids on the veteran leader's compound and for long months laid siege to it, claiming that Arafat was sheltering at least 20 wanted Palestinian officials accused of links to militant groups.