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Friday, Jun 30, 2006

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International

Mass arrest of Hamas leaders deepens crisis

Atul Aneja

Israeli jets fly over summer palace of Syrian President Assad

DUBAI: The crisis surrounding the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants is threatening to spin out of control with the arrest of several senior Hamas leaders and the killing of an Israeli civilian who had been kidnapped on Sunday.

Israel added another dimension to its military response to the situation by intruding into Syrian airspace. On Wednesday, Israeli fighter jets flew over the summer palace of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the city of Latakia along the Mediterranean coast.

Shelter for militant

Syrian authorities have given shelter in Damascus to Khalid Meshall, the top Hamas leader in exile. Israeli authorities have accused Mr. Meshall of playing a key role in the seizure of the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.

Mr. Shalit was captured after Palestinian militants destroyed an Israeli tank at a Gaza checkpoint on Sunday. Three Palestinian factions, who claimed responsibility for the attack, have sought the release of jailed Palestinian women and children for Mr. Shalit's return.

Tensions between Hamas and Israelis have worsened after Israeli troops recovered the body of an 18-year old settler in a field in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He had been shot in the head.

In a near-simultaneous early morning swoop across the Palestinian territories on Thursday, Israeli authorities detained 64 parliamentarians and 23 activists belonging to Hamas.

Ministers detained

Among the detenus were at least seven Ministers, representing a third of the 24-member Cabinet.

The Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister, Nasser al-Shaer apparently managed to evade arrest, and has gone underground. Israeli Army Radio acknowledged that the Israelis could trade the release of the Hamas detenus for Mr. Shalit's freedom. The Israeli English daily Haaretz said the arrests were "part of several moves designed to increase pressure on the militant group [Hamas] to free a captive soldier."

A Hamas official described the detentions as an "open war against the Palestinian Government and people," and warned Israel that it would pay for the consequences. Palestinian lawyers representing security detenus at an Israeli military court declined to represent Hamas officials who had been arrested, arguing that their detention was illegitimate.

Meanwhile, Palestinian civilians were facing a possible humanitarian crisis after Israeli troops tightened their grip around the Gaza Strip.

Electricity supply in Gaza was badly affected after Israeli jets on Wednesday fired nine missiles at the city's main power station. Residents from the northern Gaza village of Beit Hanun were preparing for a mass exodus apprehending an Israeli military strike.

The stand-off between the Israelis and Hamas has become widely internationalised.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh criticised the United States for giving the "green light" to Israeli "aggression." The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the crisis risked inflaming tensions across the region.

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