Israel detains 2 Palestinian MPs in West Bank raids

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli forces detained two Palestinian lawmakers belonging to Hamas group during overnight raids in the occupied West Bank, according to Hamas’s parliamentary bloc.

Khaled Tafesh and Anwar Zanoon were arrested in the city of Bethlehem, the Change and Reform party said in a statement on Monday.

The Israeli military said its forces had rounded up 12 Palestinians during overnight raids in the West Bank.

It, however, did not mention whether the MPs were among those arrested in the raids.

Sunday’s arrests take the number of Hamas lawmakers in Israeli prisons to seven.

There are another two deputies from Fatah and the Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) parties also imprisoned.

The Israeli army frequently carries out sweeping arrest campaigns in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem that ostensibly target Palestinians "wanted" by the Israeli occupation authorities.

Currently, over 7,000 Palestinians are languishing in Israeli prisons, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs.