Number of Palestinian MPs in Israeli prisons rises to 23

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said on Wednesday that the number of Palestinian MPs inside Israeli prisons now totals 23 after occupation forces arrested two more parliamentarians from Bethlehem overnight.

As part of a massive arrest campaign targeting Hamas members and leaders, Israeli occupation forces have arrested over 400 Palestinians, holding about half of them in administrative detention without any formal charges or evidence being filed against them.

In the latest development, occupation forces arrested MPs Khalid Tafish and Anwar Zboun.

The Israeli arrest campaign started in the wake of the alleged kidnapping of three Israeli settlers, who went missing on 12 June near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

Large numbers of Israeli soldiers have since stormed Hebron and other West Bank cities, arresting hundreds of Palestinians, including the speaker of the parliament and 11 other Hamas MPs.

It is worth mentioning that an additional 11 MPs have been in Israeli prisons for years, including Marwan Al-Barghouti, who has been behind bars since 2002.