Israel arrests female Palestinian MP on women’s day

Israeli occupation forces arrested a female Palestinian PM in overnight raids carried out in the occupied West Bank yesterday.

In a statement, the Hamas-backed Change and Reform Party said: “Large numbers of Israeli troops raided the home of MP Samira Halayka in the town of Al-Shyookh near the West Bank city of Hebron.”

There are reports that Al-Halayka was handcuffed and blindfolded by the soldiers before the Israeli Army seized her laptop and mobile phone and dragged her to an unknown location.

Earlier this week, Israeli forces detained two Hamas-affiliated Palestinian lawmakers during overnight raids carried out in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

According to the Palestinian Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, the latest arrests bring the total number of Palestinian lawmakers now in Israeli custody to ten.

The Israeli army frequently carries out sweeping arrest campaigns targeting “wanted” Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Currently, over 7,000 Palestinians are languishing in prisons throughout Israel, according to the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoners’ Affairs.

The Shin Bet confirmed that Al-Halayka had been arrested, but would not say what she was suspected of doing.

Shin Bet confirms Hamas parliamentarian Samira Halayka was arrested early this morning, but won't yet say what she's accused of.

— Judah Ari Gross (@JudahAriGross) March 9, 2017

“At the end of her interrogation, we will be able to elaborate,” the security agency said.