Hamas arrests Palestinian peace activists for talking with Israelis on Zoom
The arrests were made after the two sides held a nearly two-hour meeting over the coronavirus
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The terrorist organization Hamas said over the weekend that it arrested a number of Palestinian peace activists on charges of "treason" after accusing them of trying to "normalize" relations with Israel through the communication platform Zoom.
The Gaza Interior Ministry said it had arrested a man named Rami Aman and his "colleagues" for "normalizing activities with the Israeli occupier via the Internet."
"Establishing any activity or communication with the Israeli occupying forces, regardless of the excuse, is a crime... and constitutes an act of betrayal of our people," the ministry said in a statement.
According to The Times of Israel, Aman, founder of a politically independent organization called the Gaza Youth Committee, held a nearly two-hour meeting with Israeli activists over a number of topics including the coronavirus.
His family said that he was later summoned by Hamas security forces and have not heard from Aman since Thursday.
The arrests come as the US video conferencing platform Zoom is experiencing a boom in popularity around the world, which coincides with containment measures imposed by many governments in an attempt to stem the pandemic of new coronavirus.