Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit Saturday denounced Israel's arrest of Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nasser al-Shaer, said a press statement issued by the foreign ministry.

Abul Gheit said that Egypt totally rejected Israel's attempts to impose its will on the Palestinians by all means, including the arrest of cabinet ministers and lawmakers.

Earlier in the day, Israeli forces snatched al-Shaer, who is also a senior Hamas leader, from his home in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Besides al-Shaer, Israel also took into custody several Hamas ministers and over 20 Hamas legislators including Parliament Speaker Aziz Dweik after Palestinian militants kidnapped one Israeli soldier and killed two others on June 25.

Israel must realize that its practices would only spread hatred and extremism in the region and disrupt all endeavors to bring closer views of the two parties in order to breathe life into the peace process, said Abul Gheit.

He also urged the international community to press Israel to end its violation of international norms and conventions, release Palestinian prisoners and respect all agreements signed with the Palestinian side.

Source: Xinhua