By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM

Israeli police have detained 20 Arab Israelis belonging to the Balad political party after an investigation into their finances.

A police statement said they detained officials, activists, lawyers and accountants during Sunday morning raids.

It said the party was suspected of hiding the domestic and foreign origins of millions of shekels in donations which had financed the party's activities.

In a statement published on the Arab48 website, Balad denied the allegations, calling the arrests a "dangerous escalation" against their party.

Balad is part of the Arab Joint-List in Israeli parliament, the Knesset, and has three seats held by Basel Ghattas, Jamal Zahalka and Haneen Zoabi.