Israel extends detention of Hamas ministers

By Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - An Israeli general on Monday ordered two jailed Hamas cabinet ministers and a legislator from the Islamist group held without trial for six months, one of their lawyers said.

Minister of State Wasfi Kabha, Education Minister Naser al-Deen al-Shaer and Abdel-Rahman Zeidan, a Hamas lawmaker, were detained by Israel, along with more than 30 other Palestinian officials, in the occupied West Bank last month.

Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz has said the detentions could put pressure on Hamas to stop rocket attacks from Gaza.

Palestinian lawyer Osama al-Saadi said Major-General Gadi Shamni, head of the Israeli military's central command, signed an order to place Kabha, Shaer and Zeidan in what Israel calls administrative detention until December 4.

The Israeli military, Justice Ministry and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office had no immediate comment.

Israel's use of administrative detention against Palestinians, effectively jailing them without trial on security grounds, has been condemned by human rights groups.

"The arrests of ministers and lawmakers are political arrests," Saadi said.

He said Israeli authorities lacked evidence to win any court case against the men and had chosen instead "to return to the old way of sending people into administrative detention".