The Israeli government has abducted two more members of the Palestinian Parliament. On Saturday, Israeli troops detained the Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer. Then on Sunday, another senior Palestinian parliament figure, Mahmoud al-Ramahi, was seized by Israeli troops. Both officials are members of the ruling Hamas party. In late June, the Israeli military arrested seven Hamas government ministers and some 20 legislators. Palestinian Government Spokesperson Ghazi Hammad accused Israel of trying to destabilize the government.

• Palestinian Government Spokesperson Ghazi Hammad: “It is an obvious message to the world that Israel does not want a Palestinian political system or even stability in the Palestinian life. You can realize that this arrest comes after two days of (Palestinian) dialogues to perform a unity government. Israel wants to abort this and all the efforts to form this government.”