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| By israelinsider staff May 24, 2007 |
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Hamas has threatened revenge for the latest IDF action against the militant group, in which 33 senior Hamas officials were arrested. The arrests come as rockets continue to be fired from Gaza into southern Israel.
"Arrests are better than shooting," Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Army Radio. "The arrest of these Hamas leaders sends a message to the armed organizations that we demand that this firing [of rockets] stop."
According to a statement by Hamas' military wing, "Our strikes against the enemy will continue, we have freed the hand of all our cells to strike the enemy everywhere in Palestine."
According to Israel radio the arrest raid was approved five days ago, and the security cabinet ordered Shin Bet and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to gather information on the suspected officials.
Among those arrested was prominent political Education Minister Nasser Shaer, who was apprehended at his home in Nablus. This is the second time Shaer has been arrested in the past year.
Accordign to Haaretz, " Soldiers also arrested former cabinet minister Abdel Rahman Zeidan, legislators Hamed Bitawi and Daoud Abu Ser, the mayors of the towns of Nablus, Qalqiliya and Beita - Adli Yaish, Wajih Qawas and Arab Shurafa - as well as the head of the main Islamic charity in Nablus, Fayad al-Arba."
Both PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' office and government spokesman Ghazi Hamad condemned the arrest raid, Hamad saying it showed "a scale of escalation and Israeli arrogance."
"Through this... aggression the Israeli government is once again pushing the region into a cycle of violence and it bears the full responsibility for the consequences resulting from such irresponsible actions," stated Hamad.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri agreed, saying that the arrest raid ruined any efforts for a cease-fire with Gaza.
PMO official David Baker stated the arrest raids were aimed at stopping Hamas violence at Israel.
"Israel is making it crystal clear that it is adamant about stopping the Hamas terror directed against us both in the Gaza Strip via the continuous Qassam rocket attacks and in the West Bank where the terror cells continue to flourish," he stated.
"The Hamas terror organization is currently involved in enhancing the terror infrastructure in the (West Bank) region, based on the model used in the Gaza Strip," said an IDF statement. "The organization exploits governmental institutions to encourage and support terrorist activity." |
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