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| Arrest in 2006 |
By Elad Benari
IDF soldiers on Thursday arrested a senior official from Hamas on suspicion of terrorist activity, Channel 10 News reported. The IDF Spokesperson confirmed the arrest.
The official who was arrested is Dr. Aziz Duwaik, who has served as the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) since January 2006. He was reportedly arrested at a security checkpoint near Ramallah and was transferred to the Israel Security Agency (ISA) for further interrogations.
Channel 10 cited Palestinian Authority-based news agencies as having reported that Duwaik was taken away blindfolded and with his hands tied. It was also reported that a man who accompanied him was arrested as well but released a short time later.
This is not the first time Duwaik has been arrested by Israel. He was previously arrested and jailed in August of 2006, but was released in 2009.
Channel 10 reported that PA officials condemned the arrest and called it an Israeli attempt to thwart the efforts to give the PA legislative power and authority throughout Judea and Samaria. The official said that the arrest is a clear violation of norms and international understandings.
The Deputy Speaker of the PLC, Dr. Ahmad Bahar, called the arrest a kidnapping and said Israel was fully responsible for Duwaik’s well-being, the report said.
Bahar also called on Egypt, the Arab League and Muslim states to intervene to bring about Duwaik’s release.
Duwaik's arrest came after an IDF raid on Hamas offices in Tulkarem turned up a photo of MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) rubbing elbows with well-known Hamas figures.
The photo -- recovered with a cache of intelligence data in December -- shows Zoabi alongside four known Hamas members, Duwaik being one of them.
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By Gavriel Queenann
The IDF and Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, reported Thursday they arrested the regional commander for Islamic Jihad in Jenin in December.
According to a joint statement the detainee maintained contact with the terror organization's headquarters in Syria. From there, the Jenin commander received large sums of money to finance terror operations, as well as to purchase and produce weapons.
The commander arrested Thursday is the tenth Islamic Jihad member involved in terror activities arrested by Israel's security services in recent months. Israel has also killed several Islamic Jihad terrorists who were carrying out -- or planning to carry out -- terror attacks from Hamas-run Gaza in recent months.
In addition to foreign contacts, the Jenin commander was responsible for maintaining contacts with Islamic Jihad elements in Gaza and the so-called Islamic Union in Jerusalem, which is used to transfer pensions and salaries for terrorists, and their families.
The Islamic Union was outlawed by Israel due to its complicity in moving terror funds.
The Jenin cell also maintained a terror cadre that was planning to carry out attacks against IDF soldiers, shooting attacks on Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria, as well as kidnap and ransom operations.
The cell was also involved in student organizational activities in universities, which included active recruitment and propaganda.
Security forces seized explosives, automatic rifles, a large quantity of ammunition, and an undisclosed amount of terror funds.
Those arrested face indictments in an IDF court for membership in a terror organization, terror activity, unlawful association, financing terrorism, contact with the enemy, weapons possession, and conspiracy to traffic arms and other military equipment.
