Palestinian Authority (PA) security services arrested eight Palestinian citizens and summoned several others for questions in the occupied West Bank, Hamas said yesterday.
In a statement, Hamas said that the PA’s security apparatus arrested Mohamed Salama and the intelligence services arrested brothers Issa and Suhaib Odeh as well as the brothers Yahya and Jamal Sowey. All of the men were arrested from their homes in Tulkarm.
In Hebron, the statement said, police assaulted lawyer Bassam Qawasmeh and he is now in hospital.
Zeyad Al-Zagheir was also arrested along with former prisoner Yousef Shawer. A student at the Palestinian Polytechnic University, Mo’men Abu-Rayyan, was detained at his home.
Former prisoner, Mos’ab Abu-Shkheedem, was also summoned and questioned by the security services. Abu-Shkheedem was released from prison two weeks ago.
Security officials also raided the house of Mo’men Ayyoub, a student. He was not present at the time. His family were told that the security staff was there to arrest him.
Hamas said in its statement that several other Palestinians are being held in the PA’s prisons in several West Bank cities for months.
The PA has also been cracking down on journalists reporting on its arrest campaigns against Palestinians, the statement added.