In a step many considered an Israeli interference in Palestinian preparations for PLC elections set for January 25, Israeli forces detained, on Monday, 23 officials and supervisors of voting stations in the Tulkarem area for more than three hours.
The 23 were arrested at a checkpoint between Tulkarem and Ramallah.
Mustapha Zarini, CEC coordinator for the Tulkarem constituency said the group was traveling to Ramallah to attend a training workshop organized by the CEC in preparation for the PLC elections.
Zarini stressed that prior coordination had been carried out with the Israeli side via the Palestinian liaison office, which included the names and ID numbers of all the supervisors.
A number of supervisors said they reached Ramallah at around 8:30 that evening even though they left Tulkarem at one in the afternoon. The 23 were detained at the Bala checkpoint for over three hours before being released.
