Israel army arrests ‘five Hamas members’
Ramallah-based Prisoners’ Club says Hamas politician Mohammed Jamal al-Natshe among those arrested in city of Hebron.
Israel’s army has arrested five members of Palestinian group Hamas, including a member of parliament, a prisoners’ support group said.
The five were arrested at dawn on Wednesday at their homes in the city of Hebron in the southern part of the occipied West Bank, the Ramallah-based Prisoners’ Club told AFP news agency.
They included Mohammed Jamal al-Natshe, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the support group said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that “six people were arrested and taken for security questioning,” but gave no further details.
Israel has stepped up arrests of Hamas members in the West Bank, in part to prevent what it calls a rising tide of low-intensity conflict and civil unrest from turning into an uprising.
Hamas has 74 members in the 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council, which is based in Ramallah.