Israel arrests Palestinian student leader in West Bank university for links to Hamas

JERUSALEM, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Israel has arrested several suspected Hamas members in the West Bank, including a university student leader, for links to the Islamic Hamas movement, the Israel Security Agency (ISA) said Thursday.

On March 7th, undercover Israeli Border Police officers arrested Omar Kiswani, 24-year-old chairman of the student council at Bir Zeit University, accusing him of receiving funding on behalf of a Hamas-affiliated student group.

The ISA investigation showed that Kiswani was in contact with Hamas member Yassin Rabia, who had been expelled to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by Israel, as well as some Hamas members in Turkey.

Kiswani reportedly sought funds to advance Hamas activities at Bir Zeit University, and Rabia subsequently transferred to him approximately 150,000 Euros (179,662 U.S. dollars) which were concealed in several locations throughout West Bank, the ISA claimed.

Kiswani collected the money along with his friend and fellow Hamas student association member Yahya Alawi, in an attempt to promote Hamas activities, the statement said.

In 2017, a Gaza-based Hamas cell was uncovered which had recruited Bir Zeit University students to perpetrate suicide attacks in Israel. Additional Hamas student group members have recently been discovered while seeking to commit shooting attacks in the area near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ISA said. Enditem