ISRAEL yesterday released the Palestinian deputy prime minister, the highest ranking of some 30 officials in the Hamas-led government, after jailing him without charges for more than a month.

An Israeli military court today ordered the release of the Palestinian deputy prime minister, a defence lawyer said in Jerusalem.

Hamas officials today gave Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the go-ahead for negotiations with Israel, a major shift in the militant Islamic group’s position toward the Jewish state as it worked to end its international isolation.

Palestinians launched an investigation today after seven people were rushed to hospital when one of them opened a suspicious envelope addressed to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, officials said.

The head of Israel’s southern military command confirmed today that Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer was among the Hamas officials Israel arrested in an early morning sweep.

Israeli forces rounded up dozens of Palestinian Cabinet ministers and MPs from Hamas today, increasing pressure on the Islamic militants to release a captured Israeli soldier.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas put himself on a collision course with Hamas after blocking the party’s plan to set up a security force of 4,000 militants.

A previously unknown group today said it had kidnapped three Hamas officials in the West Bank, accusing the Islamic group of putting itself above the law.