In Gaza, Israel has killed at least five Palestinians and wounded another five during airstrikes targeting facilities of the Hamas Executive Force. In East Jerusalem late Saturday, Israeli security forces shot and killed two more Palestinians in East Jerusalem. The Israeli military claims the men opened fire on them.

In the West Bank, Wasfi Kabha, a minister from the Palestinian unity government, was kidnapped by Israeli troops. Kabha’s daughter says five soldiers raided their house before dawn, kidnapped her father, and then took his computer and documents with them. Israeli troops also raided other buildings in Jenin belonging to religious authorities, as well as Hamas security posts in the northern town of Jabalya and the southern town of Rafah.

Education Minister Nasser Shaer was taken away earlier this week, making Kabha the second member of the unity cabinet kidnapped by the Israeli military. 33 Hamas political leaders were also taken on Thursday. Israel is holding 40 Palestinian politicians that it’s rounded up over the past year. An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, “We have urged the US and the EU to intervene to release the ministers and lawmakers. This step does not help to achieve calm.”

Seemingly proud of his ignorance and commitment to declare war on diplomatic solutions, Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh said, “We do not make a distinction between the political leadership of Hamas and the military wing of the same movement. The basis, the fundament, the ideology and the policy of this movement is a terrorist one.” Abu Obeida al-Jarrah, the chief Hamas commander of the Executive Force, said Israel’s targeting of its bases was “a declaration of war,” and expressed his concern that members of the Fatah party were working with Israel in occupied Gaza.

Meanwhile, a Fatah delegation is headed to Cairo to see if Egyptian mediators will be able to end the crisis. President Abbas wants to halt Palestinian rocket attacks for a month so that a mutual truce can be discussed with Israel. Abdel-Hakim Awad, a spokesman for Fatah said, “The next 48 hours will be decisive for determining which way the factions are going, and it will depend on Israel and whether it wants to stop its aggression.”

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