The IDF carried out a large arrest operation in the West Bank town of Awarta overnight Monday, Israel Radio reported, quoting Palestinian sources.

Awarta is near the settlement of Itamar, where five members of one family were murdered earlier this month in a stabbing attack.

According to Awarta Deputy Council Head Kayas Awad, more than 60 residents of the town were arrested in the operation overnight Monday, bringing the total number of residents from the town in Israeli custody to around 100 people, according to the report.

The IDF had no comment at the time of this report.

Following the Itamar massacre earlier this month, the army stepped up its presence in nearby Awarta, going door-to-door in search of suspects.

OC Central Command Maj.- Gen. Avi Mizrachi visited the village to oversee the IDF’s work two days after the attack. The military refused to officially comment on the ongoing operations but many soldiers were seen inside the village.

Soldiers and border policemen rounded up several dozen Palestinians from villages near Itamar in an effort to identify and apprehend the people who murdered Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their children. Military sources had said they were confident the army would capture the killers within days.

Also in the days after the murders, over 100 hundred settlers from Itamar made their way to Awarta and threw stones at homes, Palestinian news agency Ma´an reported.

In an apparent revenge attack for the murder of the Fogel family, more than a dozen masked settlers approached the village in what appeared to be a demonstration, Ma´an reported.

According to the report, two Awarta residents were injured as they attempted to drive away the settlers. Yaakov Katz and Ben Hartman contributed to this report. (© 1995 - 2011 The Jerusalem Post. 03/29/11)