Mohammed Awad, Secretary General of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)-led government, on Saturday called on Israel to free all the Palestinian officials who had been detained in the West Bank one month ago.

Israel has arrested Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Speaker Aziz Dweik and Deputy Prime Minister Nasser al-Shaer as well as eight cabinet ministers and 28 lawmakers, though three ministers have been freed on bail.

Awad condemned the Israeli arrests and called for releases of the Palestinian officials as soon as possible, saying the seizure was part of an Israeli plan to weaken the Palestinian government.

Awad, meanwhile, praised Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya for outlining conditions to form a new coalition government.

Haneya has said there will be no coalition government unless jailed ministers and lawmakers are released, the siege on the government is lifted and the prime minister is selected from the party of the parliamentary majority.

"How we can begin forming a national-unity government while half of the government's ministers are held in Israeli prisons? It 's unfair for the ministers that their government is broke up while they are in custody," Awad said.

Awad also defended the work of the current Hamas-led government, rejecting remarks that the government was paralyzed.

"The current government is working on the internal Palestinian level and is not paralyzed, the paralysis comes from outside by isolating the government and arresting its members," he stressed.

Source: Xinhua