Israel arrested 10 West Bank-based members of the Islamist movement Hamas in the West Bank. AFP reports that Israel declined to give reasons for the arrests.
Earlier today, Israel fired retaliatory rockets against Hamas.
Even though Hamas has ruled the Gaza strip since 2007, there are many of its members that remain in the West Bank. The latter serves as home to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party.
Palestinian officials put the number of arrests at 15.
Hamas has condemned the arrests claiming they were a joint US-Israeli-Palestinian peace plot that was a part of a broader strategy to achieve results in the ongoing peace negotiations.
The international community has largely boycotted Hamas since it won the elections in 2006. In turn, Hamas refuses to recognize the current peace talks saying that President Abbas’ government has no right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
