Thursday, May 24, 2007

Israel Arrests Hamas Minister, Hits Targets in Gaza

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Israel arrested a Palestinian minister and three West Bank mayors in a sweep of officials belonging to the Hamas, the Islamic movement that shares control of the government with its rival Fatah faction, the army said.

Among 33 Palestinians arrested in the West Bank by Israel were Hamas Education Minister Nasser Saher and mayors of Nablus, Qalqilya and Beita. The sweep was the first of high-ranking members of Hamas since the arrests of five ministers and 15 lawmakers in June following the abduction of an Israeli soldier.

``Hamas is now trying to export its terrorist infrastructure to the West Bank,'' the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its Web site. ``The recent arrests carried out by Israel are part of a preventative security policy based on substantial intelligence.''
 
 
Thomas Braun, Lima, Peru.

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