News / Palestine

Israeli forces arrest senior Hamas officials in West Bank

Wednesday, 18 May 2016 9:54 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 18 May 2016 10:04 AM ]

former Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs and senior Hamas official Wasfi Qabha

Israeli forces have arrested two senior Hamas members along with several other people during separate overnight raids on a number of houses across the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian sources said Israeli soldiers stormed the house of former Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs Wasfi Qabha in Jenin early on Wednesday and violently searched the building, causing excessive property damage.

The sources said that Israeli troops “aggressively” beat up Qabha during the raid before taking him away to an unknown location.

Israeli forces also detained Rafat Nasif, a member of the Hamas politburo, in the city of Tulkarm in the early hours of Wednesday.

Member of the Hamas politburo Rafat Nasif

The developments came only a day after Israeli troops raided a house in the al-Masyoun neighborhood of Ramallah and arrested Abd al-Jaber Fuqaha, a legislator affiliated with Hamas.

Separately, Israeli forces detained 21-year-old Alaa Mohammed Taqatqa in the town of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem.

Mustafa Jamal al-Badan and Ammar Yasir al-Omour, both 17, together with Shadi Nayif al-Omour were also arrested in the town of Tuqu’ southeast of Bethlehem.

The occupied territories have been the scene of heightened tensions since August when Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

Journalists run for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli forces during clashes with Palestinian protesters following a weekly demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on May 6, 2016. (© AFP)

The restrictions have enraged Palestinians, who are also angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers frequently storming the al-Aqsa Mosque. The Palestinians say the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the compound.

More than 210 Palestinians, including children and women, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since the beginning of last October.

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