Dweik: Israel's renewed kidnapping of MPs aimed at silencing them

[ 12/01/2011 - 10:35 AM ]

WEST BANK, (PIC)-- Dr. Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian legislative council (PLC), said that Israel returned to the detention of lawmakers in order to silence any voice defending the Palestinian people's rights and constants in the West Bank. Dr. Dweik stated on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation wants to re-emphasize the message it had sent before to the Palestinian people when it locked up in its jails most of Hamas lawmakers and former ministers. For his part, Hamas lawmaker in Salfit city Nasser Abdeljawwad strongly denounced the Israeli occupation forces for raiding and ransacking the office of Salfit lawmakers, and stealing computer sets, official seals and some files. MP Abdeljawwad stressed that the kidnapping of MP Omar Abdelrazeq and the raid on the office of Salfit lawmakers is part of the renewed Israeli policy that is aimed at thwarting the obligations laid over the shoulders of Hamas lawmakers toward their people. Israel re-kidnapped lately many Palestinian lawmakers from the Hamas parliamentary bloc, the latest of them was MP Omar Abdelrazeq who was taken from his home at dawn Tuesday. Political analysts and human rights activists believe that Israel wants again to keep the lawmakers away from the Palestinian arena and prevent a parliamentary quorum. Political analyst Wisam Afifa told the Palestinian information center (PIC) on Tuesday that Israel's persistence in kidnapping lawmakers is aimed at weakening Hamas and making up for the mistake it had done when it allowed the movement to win the legislative elections. Afifa underlined that after Hamas won the elections, Israel and regional parties agreed upon the need to stop this new change through kidnapping its lawmakers, expressing his belief that the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority is absolutely satisfied with this situation.