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France blasts Hamas members' arrest
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy condemned on Thursday the arrest of over 60 Hamas members by Israeli forces early in the morning. He said that diplomacy was the only solution to the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians and that political figures should not be arrested.Israel stated that the arrests were made as part of a criminal investigation into the Hamas officials' involvement in a terrorist organization. Israeli officials insisted that the detainees would be entitled to legal representation, and would be released if it were to be found that the suspicions against them were unfounded. Over 60 Hamas members, including ministers in the Palestinian Authority parliament, were arrested overnight Wednesday throughout the West Bank. Detainees included such senior figures as Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek, Labor Minister Muhammed Barghouti, parliament member Mohamemd Abu Teir and the mayors of Kalkilya and Jenin. Army Radio revealed that Deputy Prime Minister Naser a-Din Shaer was not arrested, as was reported earlier. In the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, and Bethlehem security forces arrested the men and took them to a military detention camp to be interrogated under the suspicion of being involved in terror activities against Israel. OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh told Army Radio that IDF troops surrounded a building in Ramallah where some 20 Hamas members were staying. They surrendered without a fight, he said. He added that the arrests were to continue in the future days. Interior Minister Roni Bar-On emphasized Thursday morning, in an interview to Israel Radio, that accusations claiming the men were arrested to be used as bargaining chips to be dealt in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit were baseless. Bar-On added that if enough evidence was found tying the men to terror activity, they would stand trial in Israel. Within the IDF, however, conflicting voices gave the impression that the men could possibly be used as bargaining chips. Other sources said that the detainees would certainly not be released in exchange for the soldier, and that they were arrested for their involvement in a terror organization. UAL MK Ahmed Tibi on Thursday called the massive arrest operations "a macho display of strength." He stated that the operation had nothing to do with the release of Shalit and added that it would only lead to a deterioration in the situation and additional bloodshed. A Hamas military-wing spokesman in the West Bank responded Thursday morning by saying that the arrests would not bring about Shalit's release, and that Hamas was still demanding the release of female Palestinian prisoners, as well as prisoners under the age of 18, from Israeli prisons. Palestinian sources claimed that the arrests were an Israeli attempt to negate the election results in which Hamas came to power in the Palestinian Legislative Council. In addition, PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh convened an emergency meeting of government members in Gaza. An unofficial response said that, "Israel is targeting Hamas' political wing, which wasn't involved in the kidnapping [of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit]." "Israel is heading in the wrong direction, and will pay for it," the response continued. Posted by: ryuge 2006-06-29 |
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