Israel keeps Hamas men in prison

Cabinet minister Wasfi Qabha was seized from his home in Jenin

Two Hamas members of the Palestinian cabinet and another Hamas lawmaker will remain in detention without charge for six months, an Israeli court has ruled.

The military court said ministers Nasseredin al-Shaer and Wasfi Qabha, plus MP Abdelrahman Zeidan, posed a "clear and present danger".

The men were arrested in May during a West Bank raid in which a total of 31 Hamas officials were held.

Palestinian officials criticised their continued detention.

"The arrests of ministers and lawmakers are political arrests," Palestinian lawyer Osama al-Saadi told the Reuters news agency.

Israel's defence minister has said that the detention of the Hamas figures could help reduce the numbers of rockets fired by militants against Israel.

Rafah raid

Earlier, Israeli forces began what was reported to be the first Gaza tank incursion for several months.

Israel keeps a large tank force ready for action on Gaza's border

Israel radio said tanks and troops had advanced about two kilometres into Palestinian territory in the south of the Gaza Strip.

A spokesman said several Palestinians were arrested during what he called a search for terrorist infrastructure.

Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza in mid-May following a sharp increase in rockets fired by Palestinian militants.

The soldiers took over two buildings while military bulldozers ripped up roads around the town of Rafah, witnesses quoted by Agence France-Presse news agency said.

Israeli forces pulled out of the Gaza Strip nearly two years ago.

Israel had captured the Mediterranean coastal territory almost exactly 40 years ago in the 1967 war.

Its forces continue to control Gaza's airspace and maritime border, and most of its land boundary.

Correspondents say it is the first time Israeli tanks have pushed so deep into southern Gaza since a 26 November truce took effect.