Israeli soldiers capture Palestinian deputy PM from home
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Tehran, Aug 19, IRNA
Israel-Palestine-Arrest
As part of an attempt described by Palestinian officials to capture the entire members of Palestinian government elected in the general election last year, Israeli soldiers arrested the Palestinian deputy prime minister from his home early Saturday.
Troops burst into the home of Nasser Shaer, around 4:30 a.m. and took him away, the deputy prime minister's wife, Huda, said.
Tel Aviv confirmed Shaer was captured in Ramallah overnight for what it called 'his involvement and activity in Hamas'.
Palestinian officials from Hamas and Fatah Party accused Israel of undermining efforts to form a broad ruling coalition.
With Shaer's arrest, four members of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Cabinet and some 28 Hamas members of parliament are in Israeli custody. Four other ministers have been detained and released.
Palestinian officials condemned the arrest.
Saeb Erekat, Palestinian peace negotiator, said Shaer's arrest was hurting efforts by the moderate Abbas to form a coalition with the Islamic Hamas party.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas is 'finding it embarrassing to negotiate while his colleagues are jail', Erekat said.
Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the Hamas-led government, said Israel wants to arrest the entire Cabinet.
"They wont be satisfied with any government headed by Hamas or headed by Fatah or headed by a new coalition, so I think they want to undermine the political regime, the Palestinian political regime," Hamad said.
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