Israel arrests Hamas leadership in security sweep

Israel has arrested almost the entire West Bank leadership of Hamas as a massive security sweep continues in an effort to find three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped last Thursday night.

There has still been no credible claim of responsibility or a list of demands from the kidnappers, although Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has already said members of the Islamist Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, carried out the kidnapping.

The Israeli security forces continue to work on the assumption that the three religious seminary students, who were seized while hitching in the West Bank, are alive and being held in a safe house, probably in the West Bank city of Hebron or one of the surrounding villages.

Israel has arrested more than 150 Hamas figures since Friday, including most of the movement’s West Bank leadership, among them the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Aziz Dweik.

It appears that Israel is using the kidnapping to carry out a crackdown against the Hamas military and political infrastructure ahead of the West Bank elections scheduled for later this year.

Palestinian killed

A 20-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli army fire when clashes erupted in a Ramallah-area refugee camp during a military raid yesterday.

“Army efforts are focused on enabling operational capabilities, enhancing intelligence and influencing those that participated, are involved or have knowledge of the whereabouts of the kidnapped teens,” army spokesman Peter Lerner said.

The military clampdown is centred on Hebron and all approach roads to the city have been blocked.

Hamas has denied responsibility, but praised the kidnapping. The organisation regularly urges its militants to carry out abductions of Israelis to use as bargaining chips for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Despite the fact that Israel broke off contact with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas earlier this month after the formation of a unity government backed by Hamas, Mr Netanyahu called Mr Abbas yesterday and asked him to help find the teenagers.

He noted that the perpetrators came from and returned to areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority. He also urged Mr Abbas to end his co-operation with Hamas.

“The repercussions of the partnership with Hamas must be understood. It’s bad for Israel, bad for the Palestinians, and bad for the region,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Mr Abbas condemned the kidnapping and the Israeli security sweep in the West Bank.

“The Palestinian leadership condemns the series of events over the last week, beginning with the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens and ending with a series of Israeli violations,” he said.

Mr Netanyahu held consultations with ministers and security chiefs yesterday as Israel weighed its response to the abductions. One idea being mulled was deporting Hamas leaders from the West Bank to Gaza. Hamas warned Israel of “heavy consequences” if any of its leaders were deported.