Hamas denounces political arrest of senior PLC member

[ 10/11/2010 - 04:26 PM ]

DAMASCUS, (PIC)-- The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas strongly denounced Israeli authorities for the arrest of senior Palestinian Legislative Council official Mahmoud Al Ramahi Wednesday, calling for his immediate release. The resistance group condemned in a statement it issued Wednesday the move as a “crime”, adding that Israeli authorities seek to silence “anyone who calls to protect and restore Palestinian national rights”. The group said it holds the Israeli government fully responsible for the life and well-being of Dr. Ramahi, calling on the Palestinian Authority and Fatah parties to put an end to all forms of security coordination, “which grants the occupation a cover for more crimes against the land and people.” PLC chief Dr. Aziz Dweik, addressing the media Wednesday, called on politicians the world over to stand in the face of Israel’s “disregard of the Palestinian people and their legitimate leaders”, also calling on decision-makers to uphold their responsibilities toward the Palestinian people and preserve their democratic choice when choosing their legal representatives. Fouad Al-Khafsh, director of the Ahrar human rights center in Palestine, said Ramahi’s arrest demonstrates Israel’s complete denial of Palestine’s legitimacy, abuse of every sense of democracy,  and real disregard of all international conventions and norms, which provide elected politicians complete immunity, especially from foreign entities. “This was the second time Dr. Mahmoud Al Ramahi was arrested while he was a member of the legislative council. He was abducted Aug. 20, 2006 and released March 31, 2009 after spending 33 months in detention; and it was the third time in Dr. Mahmoud al-Ramahi’s history, as he was placed in detention  Feb. 16, 1992 until Apr. 15., 1995.” Ramahi’s wife told the Ahrar center that a large Israeli military force raided their Al-Beira home at 3:00am in the West Bank city of Ramallah Wednesday morning and took him to an unknown destination after requesting that he leave with them. Khafsh added that Anas Halayeqa, son of PLC member Samira Al-Halayeqa, and PLC member representing Al-Khalil Hatim Qufaisha, MP Al-Za’arir, and Abdul-Jabir Fuqaha from Ramahllah were also recently detained by Israeli forces. Rights groups in Palestine assert that Israel’s unjustified spree of arrests against politicians is aimed at impairing the PLC until it becomes unable to pass decisions. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Ramahi was detained to deliberately exclude him form the outside world, adding that Israeli forces have abducted almost all West Bank and Jerusalem PLC members, especially those nominally allied under the title of “Islamic representatives”. A total of ten PLC members have been placed in Israeli detention, seven of them belonging to the Change and Reform Bloc. They have been identified as: Hassan Yousef, Mohammed Abu Teir, Basim Al-Za’arir, Abdel-Jabir Al-Fuqaha, Dr. Ayman Daraghima, Dr,. Hatim Qufaisha, and Dr. Mahmoud Al-Ramahi. Fatah party MPs Marwan Al-Barghouthi and Jamal Al-Teirawi, and Popular Front MP Ahmad Saadat have also been detained.