IDF jails Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister

When Hamas, a militant group that has called for Israel's destruction, swept to power in the Palestinian Authority in March elections by defeating the moderate Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel was not pleased with the outcome. Since the abduction of an Israeli soldier on June 25 by militants from three Palestinian groups, including the Hamas armed wing, Israel has launched an unrelenting offensive in the Gaza Strip which has targeted Hamas and Palestinian government infrastructure in addition to taking scores of civilian lives. On Aug. 19, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrested Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Naser al-Shaer, the highest-ranking Hamas official rounded up in a seven-week-old crackdown against the ruling party. Israel has more than two dozen Hamas lawmakers and cabinet ministers in custody since late June, after it launched an offensive nominally in response to the kidnapping of the soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid from the Gaza Strip. Israel has made plain that it favors the more moderate Fatah party in power in Palestine. As Israel's internal security service warned last week that the Fatah movement could disintegrate in the Gaza Strip and lead to a "Lebanon-like reality" there, Israeli forces continued to apprehend members of the democratically-elected Hamas political party. "Fatah is in an extremely difficult situation," a senior government official quoted Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin as saying during the weekly cabinet meeting on Aug. 20. "It has never been at such a low point. "If nothing positive happens soon, the chances are high that within a matter of months Fatah could disintegrate and disappear from the Gaza Strip," he said. Fatah was routed by the Islamic fundamentalist Hamas movement in a January election and since then, Hamas and Fatah loyalists have been periodically involved in deadly internecine clashes. Hamas enjoys widespread popularity in the impoverished and densely-populated Gaza Strip because of its social programs and its fight against Israel, which Palestinians say continues to control the Gaza Strip despite withdrawing from the area last year. "If we do not counter the strengthening of Hamas and the Iranian influence in the Gaza Strip, we will be facing a strategic threat within three to five years and a Lebanon-like reality in the Gaza Strip," Diskin warned. Troops burst into the home of al-Shaer around 4:30am on Aug. 19 and took him away, said the deputy prime minister's wife, Huda. She said her husband had been in hiding since the crackdown began in late June and that he had rarely been home during that period. An Israeli army spokesman confirmed troops had taken al-Shaer into custody, saying it was "due to his membership in a terrorist organization." With Shaer, Israel has now arrested four members of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Cabinet and 28 Hamas lawmakers. Four other ministers have been detained and released. Saeb Erekat, the top Palestinian negotiator, condemned the arrest and said "this complicates" a recent bid by Abbas to forge a Palestinian unity government and to ease a Western aid embargo against the Hamas government. The boycott is designed to push the militant group to recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past peace accords. Erekat said Shaer's arrest hurts efforts by the moderate Abbas to form a coalition with Hamas. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was "finding it embarrassing to negotiate while his colleagues are in jail," Erekat said. Despite the arrests and a military offensive in Gaza, Cpl. Shalit remains in captivity. Officials from both Hamas and the rival Fatah Party have criticized Israel's crackdown. "They won't be satisfied with any government headed by Hamas or headed by Fatah," said Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the Hamas government. "So I think they want to undermine the political regime, the Palestinian political regime."