Hamas Condemns Arrest of MP by Israel; Calls for Suspension of Peace Talks

Palestinian officials have condemned the arrest of a Hamas MP by Israel and are calling for the cancellation of peace talks with the Jewish State in retaliation.

Israeli authorities arrested Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, on Thursday, at a checkpoint near Ramallah in the West Bank in suspicions of being a member of a terror group.

Palestinian authorities said they will enact a campaign for Dweik’s release. Meanwhile, Hamas (which rules Gaza) said the detention was designed by Israel to thwart the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

Hamas has also called for the European Parliament to intervene on Dweik's behalf.

Ahmed Bahr, a senior Hamas figure who is also the deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, has advised Mahmoud Abbas, the head of Fatah and President of the Palestinian National Authority, to suspend the preliminary peace talks with Israel that had been taking place in Jordan.

What happened [the arrest of Dweik] requires Mahmoud Abbas to declare an immediate stop to the negotiations in Amman in respect of our people and in respect of the parliament and its head, Bahr told reporters in Gaza.

It should be a firm message to the Occupation [Israel] that their continued crimes will not be given cover by the Palestinian Authority and will not pass without a response.

Dweik was previously arrested by Israel in 2006 and spent nearly three years in prison.

BBC reported that about 20 of the Hamas MPs from the PLC are currently under detention by Israel. Israel, the United States and the European Union considered Hamas a terrorist organization.