Israel arrests senior Hamas official in Ramallah

Israel is fighting Palestinian terrorism and has arrested a senior Hamas official after which the terror organization claimed Israel is trying to hinder its success in the upcoming Palestinian elections.

Israeli security forces early Wednesday morning arrested Hussein Mohammed Abu Kuweik, a senior Hamas official near Ramallah.

The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) stated that Abu Kuweik was arrested because he constitutes “a threat to the security in the area.”

Hamas complained that the move was an attempt to hinder its success in the upcoming elections in the Palestinian Authority (PA), as Abu Kweik is Hamas’s main campaigner in the PA elections and was appointed last week as Hamas’s only representative to the PA’s central elections commission, which oversees the elections.

In related news, Hamas threatened Tuesday that if Palestinian security forces continue to arrest their operatives in the Judea and Samaria area, they will boycott the local elections and outlaw the PA completely in the Gaza Strip, which they rule.

The threat came after an increase in arrests of Hamas activists by PA security forces, including senior members such as Nadar Sawafta, who serves as a Hamas organizer for local elections.

The elections are slated for October 8. The last time the PA held municipal elections was in 2012.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

electionsHamasRamallahShin Bet