Israeli troops detain Hamas lawmaker in West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 20 (Reuters) Israeli soldiers detained a Palestinian lawmaker of the governing Hamas militant movement in the occupied West Bank today, witnesses and the army said.

An army spokeswoman confirmed that troops together with officers of the Shin Bet internal security service detained Mahmoud al-Ramahi in Ramallah. Witnesses said troops surrounded his house before entering and taking him away.

The detention is the latest of Hamas lawmakers and cabinet ministers. Soldiers yesterday seized Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Naser al-Shaer, a top Hamas official, at his home in the West Bank.

Israel detained dozens of Hamas lawmakers and a number of cabinet ministers in late June, after it launched an offensive in response to the kidnapping of a soldier in a cross-border raid from Gaza. Some of those officials have since been freed.

Shaer had been on the wanted list but had not been found at the time, Palestinian sources said. The army has said Shaer was taken into custody because of his ''membership in a terrorist organisation''.

Hamas, which seeks Israel's destruction, took office in March after winning parliamentary elections in January.

Violence has continued in the West Bank and Gaza since war broke out with Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas on Israel's northern border after two soldiers were abducted on July 12 in a cross-border raid.

A ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect last Monday.

In violence in the West Bank today, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian and wounded at least two others at a West Bank checkpoint, Israel Radio said.

An army spokeswoman said details of the incident were unclear and that the details were being checked.

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