Gaza man arrested in transit at Cairo airport over links to Hamas

[ 18/09/2010 - 03:32 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Egyptian authorities arrested a Palestinian man six days back in the Cairo International Airport on his return trip from Makkah after performing Umrah in the holy land, sources in Gaza said, adding that police gave no justification for the arrest. Debabeche had traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah (the smaller pilgrimage) rites this Ramadan after he was given permission to enter Egypt from Gaza en route to Saudi Arabia. Hamas denounced the arrest, asserting that Egypt should not outlaw Hamas affiliates from entry into Egypt. 30 Palestinian activists from Gaza Strip are currently detained in Egyptian prisons on charges of belonging to Palestinian organizations. Some have spent more than six years there. “Debabeche is a Palestinian citizen who left to perform the Umrah rites with the knowledge and consent of the Egyptian authorities, so why did they betray him on his return through their land and arrest him?” one Hamas official said in a press statement. “Supposing Debabeche was a Hamas leader, is there any Egyptian law prohibiting Hamas leaders from entering their land or using it for transit?” he added. “If the answer is, ‘yes’, Egypt should clearly announce that, and should not arrest people who perform Umrah during their return from Umrah rites,” he went on to say. Egypt should release Debabeche immediately, the source said, calling on the Saudi government to pressure Egypt to show respect for Muslim pilgrims and worshippers who visit Saudi Arabian holy sites and secure their safe return home. Egyptian authorities earlier prevented PLC First Deputy Speaker Ahmad Bahar and dozens of other Hamas supporters from traveling outside of the Gaza Strip through Egypt for religious and other reasons. Hamas intelligence chief detained at Cairo airport   Published today (updated) 19/09/2010 11:16 CAIRO, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egypt detained a top Hamas security official at the Cairo International Airport, an Egyptian security source said Sunday. The official was identified as the Hamas government's General Security Service Commander Muhammad Dabaeesh, also known as Abu Radwan. The source said the detention was made in connection to a thwarted attempt to smuggle millions of dollars worth of wireless devices into Gaza through the border-tunnel complex. Hamas officials warned that the detention would spark "degradation and tension" in Egypt-Hamas relations, already strained for several months. In May, the Islamist movement denied reports that Egypt has frozen all contact with Hamas but said relations between Gaza and Cairo were tense following an escalation in security measures by Egyptian forces along the Gaza border.