RAMALLAH, West Bank — In the late hours of April 12, Israeli special forces arrested Najeh Assi, a candidate for the Hamas movement in the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections and the movement’s representative in Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate, after raiding his home in the city of al-Bireh near Ramallah in the central West Bank. 

Assi’s arrest came less than a week after Hassan al-Wardian, another Hamas candidate, was arrested April 6 at dawn. after Israeli forces raided his house in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Wardian, 57, was the first candidate on the “Jerusalem is Our Goal” list to be arrested following the list’s official registration with the Palestinian Central Election Commission on March 29. Wardian is No. 19 on Hamas’ list.

Even before Hamas registered its electoral list, Israel had launched an arrest campaign against leading candidates on Hamas’ list in the West Bank. The number of arrested candidates has reached 11, including seven who were apprehended shortly before the list's registration and two who already were imprisoned. Among those arrested were Mustafa al-Shunnar, Adnan Asfour, Yasser Mansour, Khaled al-Hage, Abdel Baset al-Hage and Omar al-Hanbali.