IDF nabs head of PA parliament near Ramallah

Israel nabs PA parliamentary speaker Aziz Dweik on suspicion of involvement with terrorist groups.

Hamas official Aziz Dweik 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Fadi Arouri)
Hamas official Aziz Dweik 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Fadi Arouri)
IDF soldiers arrested senior Hamas official, Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Authority parliament on suspicion of involvement with terrorist groups on Thursday, the IDF and Hamas said.
Hamas said Dweik was taken into custody at a checkpoint near Ramallah and it accused Israel of trying to prevent rival Palestinian factions from completing a unity deal. Dweik was arrested by Israel in 2006 and spent two years in jail.
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Hamas won a parliamentary election in 2006 and seized control of the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a brief civil war a year later, since when parliament has been inactive.
Hamas and Abbas's Fatah faction agreed a reconciliation deal last year, but it has yet to be implemented.