Eighteen members of Palestinian parliament remain in Israeli prisons, 7 soon to be released

31.10.09 - 20:54
Bethlehem / PNN – Seven Palestinian Legislative Council deputies who were arrested after winning the elections in the Change and Reform bloc are slated to be released from Israeli prisons early next month.
With the end of the sentences that were imposed by an Israeli military court, the parliamentarians should be able to return to their homes just as their terms in office come to a close. Arrested shortly after the PLC elections in 2005, the Hamas-linked deputies were never able to properly assume their positions.
After 42 months in prison, parliamentarian Hatem Qafisha from Hebron, Maher Badr, Mohammad Ismail Al Tal, Mahmoud Al Khatib from Bethlehem and Wa’el Husseini from Jerusalem, are among those who are slated for release.
For her part, PLC deputy and member of the International Campaign to Release Kidnapped Representatives, Huda Naim, said, “The continued detention of representatives is an indicator of unlawful interference in the political process. The message that is given to the citizen in any future election is that those elected by the people are threatened with arrest by the occupation forces.”
She added in this week’s comments, “The location for a legislator is in the parliament, not in a prison cell.”
In the same context Naim warned of arbitrary actions taken by the Israelis that include intimidation of voters and candidates alike that would lead to a fraudulent outcome in any future election.
“Continued detention is a heinous crime that requires the international community to take a decisive stand to pressure the Israeli occupation in the direction of the release of the House of Representatives,” PLC deputy Naim said.
Out of the tens that were arrested upon election, 15 PLC deputies from the Change and Reform bloc, including the Speaker, two from Fateh’s parliamentarian bloc, and one leftist remain in Israeli prisons.
The seven slated to be released are expected on 2 November.