GAZA, April 27 (UPI) -- The Israeli army arrested a Hamas lawmaker in the West Bank city of Ramallah as part of efforts to tighten the noose on the Islamic militant group.
Ahmed Abdel Aziz Mubarak was taken early Thursday from his home by a convoy of thirty military vehicles which made an incursion into the city then pulled out a few hours later.
Mubarak's wife said the soldiers encircled the house and asked her husband to come out through loudspeakers.
Then they searched the house and seized her husband's mobile phone before taking him away to an unknown destination.
Two days ago, Israel arrested Hamas spokesman Farhat Assaad, taking him from his house near Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority.
Israel has not recognized the results of Palestinian general elections which Hamas won in a landslide, or the ensuing Hamas-led government. The Israeli government is holding back tax returns for the PA worth $50 million monthly as part of international pressures to force Hamas to recognize Israel and abandon violence.
In another development, Israeli planes raided two cars traveling on the same road in central Gaza within a span of half an hour, causing casualties.
The first raid targeted a car carrying Islamic Jihad activists, but rockets near missed the target, injuring one slightly.
Half an hour later, an Israeli drove attacked another car traveling on the same road. Mixed casualty reports said three were wounded, while others claimed two were killed and another wounded.
