Israeli soldiers have detained the Palestinian deputy prime minister, the latest step in a continuing crackdown against the ruling Hamas party.
Huda, the wife of Nasser al-Shaer said on Saturday that Israeli troops burst into her home of around 4:30am and took her husband away.
She said her husband had been in hiding since Israel began its crackdown in late June after fighters in the Gaza Strip infiltrated southern Israel and captured an Israeli soldier. She said he had rarely been home during that period.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that troops had taken al-Shaer into custody, saying it was "due to his membership of a terrorist organisation".
Saeb Erekat, the most senior Palestinian negotiator, condemned the arrest and said "this complicates" a recent attempt by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to forge a unity government, to ease a Western aid embargo against the Hamas administration.
With al-Shaer's arrest, four members of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian cabinet and about 28 Hamas members of parliament are in Israeli custody. Four other ministers have been detained and released.
Despite the arrests of Hamas officials, and a seven-week offensive in Gaza, the Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, remains in captivity.
Agencies
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