Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer
leaves the local hospital, in the West Bank town
of Ramallah Monday, Aug. 7, 2006.
(AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)
Posted on 08/19/2006 10:14:18 AM PDT by GMMAC
Israeli soldiers arrest Palestinian deputy PM: wife
CNEWS.canoe.ca
August 19, 2006
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Israeli soldiers arrested the Palestinian deputy prime minister early Saturday, the army said, the highest-ranking Hamas official to be arrested in a seven-week-old crackdown against the ruling Hamas party.
Troops burst into the home of Nasser Shaer - considered to be relatively pragmatic - around 4:30 a.m. and took him away, the deputy prime minister's wife, Huda, said.
Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer
leaves the local hospital, in the West Bank town
of Ramallah Monday, Aug. 7, 2006.
(AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)
She said her husband had been in hiding since Israel began its crackdown in late June after Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip infiltrated southern Israel and captured a soldier. She said he had rarely been home during that period.
The army confirmed Shaer was arrested in Ramallah overnight for his involvement and activity in Hamas. Palestinian officials from Hamas and from President Mahmoud Abbas' rival Fatah Party accused Israel of undermining efforts to form a broad ruling coalition.
With Shaer's arrest, four members of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Cabinet and some 28 Hamas lawmakers are in Israeli custody. Four other ministers have been detained and released. Despite the roundup and an offensive in Gaza, the soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, remains in captivity.
Palestinian officials condemned the arrest. Saeb Erekat, a Fatah lawmaker, said Shaer's arrest was hurting efforts by the moderate Abbas to form a coalition with the Islamic Hamas party. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas is "finding it embarrassing to negotiate while his colleagues are jail," Erekat said.
Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the Hamas government, said Israel wants to arrest the entire Cabinet.
"They wont be satisfied with any government headed by Hamas or headed by Fatah or headed by a new coalition, so I think they want to undermine the political regime, the Palestinian political regime," Hamad said.
"... I think they want to undermine the political regime, the Palestinian political regime,"
h'mmmm ... ya think so, Hamad ???
PING!
I hate this kind of crap in a news story.
"said Shaer's arrest was hurting efforts by the moderate Abbas to form a coalition with the Islamic Hamas party. "
That's the whole point!
Why would Israel want Hama's and Fatah to form a coalition?
So they can have more terrorists running the Palestinian government?
Good for Israel!
She said her husband had been in hiding since Israel began its crackdown in late June after Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip infiltrated southern Israel and captured a soldier. She said he had rarely been home during that period.Sounds like somebody BLABBED!
Isn't that a shame.
Why would they even bother? The soldiers Hezbollah kidnapped mean nothing to them, why would one kidnapped by Hamas mean anything to them? I'm sure this will all end 'peacefully'... Israel is committing suicide.
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