Israel arrests 2 Hamas leaders in overnight raid

Israeli forces carried out on Wednesday a raid and arrest campaign in the West Bank, capturing two Hamas leaders and 12 other Palestinians for alleged "terror activity."

A military notice said that the men are suspected of "popular terror activity," an Israeli term referring to involvement in the recent violent Palestinian uprising, which includes knife, shooting, and car-ramming attacks.

Palestinian media identified one of the Hamas officials as Wasfi Qubaha, a former minister for Palestinian prisoners' affairs in Israeli prisons.

The Palestinian Information Center, a Palestinian news site, reported that troops broke into his home in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank, and briefly detained his family members in a room while arresting him. Qubaha spent at least 12 years in Israeli prisons during previous arrests.

The other Hamas senior, Ra'afat Nasif, was arrested in his home in Tulkarem in the central West Bank.

The other arrests took place in the East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron.

The arrests came amidst a seven-month-long of violence in Israel and the West Bank. At least 203 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, mostly during attacks, according to Israel, while 28 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians.

The Israeli government says the Palestinian National Authority "incite" the violence, but the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of their lands. Endit