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New Wave of Arrests in West Bank

Israeli security forces arrested Khalid Shawish, the head of the Tanzim infrastructure in Ramallah, on Tuesday morning. Tanzim is an armed organization connected to Fatah.

 

The army said Shawish was armed with a handgun at the time of his arrest. There is speculation he had been planning to abduct an Israeli civilian over the past few days, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

 

Shawish is said to be actively involved in terrorism and involved in the murder of at least eight Israelis.

 

The army also arrested a Fatah member of the Palestinian parliament in the Balata refugee camp overnight. According to the Ma’an news agency, he is Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member Jamal A-Tirwai, who is also a spokesman for Fatah and a former commander of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aq’sa Martyrs Brigades. If confirmed, Tirawi will be the first Fatah MP to be detained in the latest spate of arrests.

 

At least 17 other wanted Palestinians were arrested in the West Bank on Monday night.

 

Security forces arrested 33 Hamas operatives in the West Bank last week. The detainees included senior Palestinian officials such as cabinet ministers, mayors and members of parliament.

 

The measure was taken in order to pressure Hamas into stopping firing missiles onto Israeli communities from Gaza.

 

The Israeli army says Hamas, which Israel designates a terror organization, is trying to enhance its terror infrastructure in the West Bank based on the model used in the Gaza Strip.

 

Israeli security officials estimate the rocket-firing will continue for the next few days. The army is operating against missile-launching cells in Gaza, but the government has not approved a large-scale military operation.

 

More than 40 Palestinians, including both civilians and armed fighters, have been killed in the operations.

 

Hamas has claimed responsibility for more than 250 Qassam rockets that have been launched onto Israel since May 15, killing two Israelis and wounding dozens.