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Israeli troops briefly detain Hamas Cabinet minister

Israeli border police briefly detained a Cabinet minister from Hamas yesterday, the first time Israel took into custody a member of the Hamas government since the Islamic militants took power last week.

Khaled Abu Arafa, minister of Jerusalem affairs, was detained along with his bodyguard when he was on his way to Izzariya, a West Bank suburb of Jerusalem. Abu Arafa, who lives in Jerusalem, was to take possession of furniture and office equipment from his predecessor, Ziad Abu Zayyad, a moderate.

Abu Arafa was detained because he is barred from entering the West Bank for security reasons, the army said. He was not interrogated because his intentions were clear, the army added.

Paramilitary police stopped the car at a checkpoint at the entrance to Izzariya, Abu Arafa told reporters. After he refused to leave the car voluntarily, police forced him out, he said.

Abu Arafa said he was taken to a shipping container where he sat for several hours before being moved to a police station in the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim.

``Nobody asked me even one question. The entire time they treated me roughly,'' Abu Arafa said, adding that his hands were cuffed and he was forced to sit on a box when riding in the military vehicle.
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