Israeli troops arrested the Hamas representative on the organizing committee for October Palestinian municipal elections on Wednesday, the Islamist movement said.

Israeli troops arrested the Hamas representative on the organizing committee for October Palestinian municipal elections on Wednesday, the Islamist movement said.

Hamas condemned what it called an "attempt to influence" the outcome of the elections, the first in the Palestinian territories since 2012.

"We condemn the arrest of Sheikh Hussein Abu Kweik," a Hamas statement said, adding that he had been detained in the early morning in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army confirmed the arrest, accusing Abu Kweik of involvement in "Hamas terrorist activity" without giving details.