Five Sussex University students are in Israel's war-torn West Bank, months after a group of their colleagues was criticised for going to the region.

The five were staying in a health development institute in Ramallah last night as 50 military vehicles entered the city and besieged the compound of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

Many nearby offices were destroyed but the compound, which had been damaged during previous incursions into the city, was not damaged.

The delegation is in the West Bank to help with medical and humanitarian work and gather film footage for a documentary about the conflict.

Delegation member Carlos Rule said: "Our Palestinian hosts are treating us unbelievably well. The resilience and determination of these people is nothing short of amazing.

"Practically all the young people have been shot or arrested at some point, everyone has relatives who have been killed or are in prison but everyone still carries on fighting and struggling."

The students have travelled to the region less than two months after the return of a ten-strong delegation of students from the university was criticised for a similar trip.

They were accused by some quarters, including the Foreign Office and Hove MP Ivor Caplin, of ignoring Foreign Office advice by travelling to the area.

The latest trip was organised by newly-formed group Che Leila Youth Brigades, which aims to link popular struggles at home to those abroad.