By Xinhua
Ramallah : Israeli troops had detained more than 24 Hamas members, including senior officials, in the West Bank town of Nablus, the Islamic movement said Sunday.
“The detentions have basically and clearly focused on Hamas andthe key leaders of the movement,” a Hamas statement said.
A Hamas lawmaker, Ahmed al-Hajj, and Hamas representative in Nablus, Ahmed Doula, were among the detainees, it said.
The statement added that Israeli soldiers had also stormed the house of Aziz al-Dewik, the jailed Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
In early November, Israel allowed the deployment of 500 Palestinian security troops loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah to boost the security in the volatile town. Yet Israel has reserved the right to take control in the city in the night.
The pro-Abbas security services have also been cracking down on Hamas in the West Bank since June as a response to Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile in Gaza, Hamas said it had thwarted an Israeli attempt to arrest a “filed commander” after Israeli undercover forces infiltrated eastern Gaza City and headed for his house near the border.
Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, added that its fighters have exchanged fire with the Israeli forces as soon as they were discovered.
The brigades said in a statement that four of its members were slightly wounded when the Israeli air force intervened and fired a missile into the car that the commander tried to use to escape.