Gaza: The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas urged President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday to suspend exploratory peace talks with Israel following Israel's arrest of two Hamas legislators, and to stop his cooperation on West Bank security with the Israelis.
Hamas' Gaza Strip leader Esmail Haniya, recently back from a tour of Arab states, praised the rise of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab world and predicted "black days" for Israel "because the nations know their path now".
Israeli soldiers on Thursday arrested senior Hamas official Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian parliament, on suspicion of involvement with terrorist groups, and detained another lawmaker of the group from Bethlehem, Khalid Tafish.
A ploy
Hamas said Dweik was taken into custody at a checkpoint near the city of Ramallah. It accused Israel of trying to undermine moves by Abbas and Hamas leader-in-exile Khalid Mesha'al to end four years of bitter rivalry and unite the two main Palestinian factions.
Haniya, speaking at a Gaza mosque after Friday prayers, said Abbas should call off meetings with Israeli negotiators in Jordan which are aimed at reviving peace negotiations suspended 15 months ago.
Hamas deputy speaker Ahmad Bahar said Israel's detention of Dweik was intended to prevent Palestinian unity.
