At least 20 Palestinians, including Hamas officials, have been detained by Israeli forces in overnight raids in the occupied West Bank, sources reported on Monday.
Mustafa Al-Shunnar, 60, and Omar Abdul-Rahim al-Hanbali, 50, were two Hamas members identified among those arrested, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society.
Muntasir Al-Shunnar – the son of the Hamas official who is also a professor at the An-Najah National University in Nablus – confirmed his father’s arrest.
Palestine 🇵🇸 L‘Apartheid lance une campagne massive d'arrestations en Cisjordanie Aujourd'hui, les forces d'occupation ont lancé une campagne massive d'arrestations dans plusieurs régions de Cisjordanie, affectant le professeur de l'université Al-Najah, Mustafa Al-Shunnar pic.twitter.com/VAH8gesrF3
— vaudais toujours (@TFilastin) February 22, 2021
“Israeli forces raided his home, destroyed some belongings and questioned my father before arresting him,” Shunar told The New Arab’s Arabic language site, adding that his father suffers from a number of health issues that require medical attention.
Al-Shunnar had previously been detained by the Israeli military.
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has earlier warned of Israeli plans to carry out mass arrests ahead of planned Palestinian elections later this year, according to local reports.
Last month, senior Hamas members Hatem Naji Amr and Omar Barghouthi (not the detained Palestinian activist of the same name) told Anadolu Agency that they were threatened by the Israeli intelligence of imprisonment if they run in the upcoming elections.
Palestinians are scheduled to vote in the legislative elections on May 22, presidential polls on July 31 and the National Council on August 31.
(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)
