World, Middle East

Israeli army arrests Palestinian MP from West Bank home

Military force raids, searches home of MP Ahmad Attoun before arresting him, witnesses say

Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg  | 21.11.2018 - Update : 21.11.2018
Israeli army arrests Palestinian MP from West Bank home

Quds

By Qais Abu Samra and Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM, Palestine

The Israeli army on Wednesday arrested a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament) from the occupied West Bank city of Al-Bireh, according to local witnesses.

Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that an Israeli military force had raided and searched the home of Palestinian MP Ahmad Attoun before arresting him.

The army, they added, had also confiscated computers and mobile phones from Attoun’s residence.

The last time Palestinian legislative elections were held in 2006, Attoun -- running on a Hamas ticket -- was elected for the city of Jerusalem.

Five years later in 2011, the Israeli authorities deported him to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

In a related development, Israeli forces have detained nine Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the West Bank late Tuesday night, according to an Israeli army statement.

The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the statement reads, without elaborating on the nature of said “activities”.

The Israeli army frequently conducts wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.

According to Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli detention facilities, including scores of women and hundreds of minors.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.