Israel Detains Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister
19 August 2006
Israeli soldiers have detained Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nasser al-Shaer.
Palestinian officials say troops burst into Shaer's home early Saturday and took him away.
An Israeli army spokesman said Shaer was taken into custody because of his membership in what the spokesman called a "terrorist organization," referring to the Islamic militant group Hamas.
But a Palestinian government spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, said Israel is trying to destroy the elected Hamas government.
In a separate incident today, the army said a Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli soldier during an attack in the West Bank. Media reports say Israeli soldiers fired back at the gunman, killing him.
Four members of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Cabinet and nearly 30 Hamas lawmakers, including the Parliament Speaker, are in Israeli custody.
Israel began a crackdown against members of the ruling militant group in June following the capture of an Israeli soldier in the West Bank.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
