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Soldiers arrest Hamas leader at Jenin checkpoint
[Ma'an] Israel's army jugged a Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, leader Saturday in the occupied West Bank, prisoners advocates said. Khaled Al-Haj, 45, was passing through a military checkpoint at the entrance of Araba when he was jugged, the Ahrar prisoners center said. Al-Haj served as a front man for Hamas, and he was recently released from prison. Soldiers had apparently installed the checkpoint to catch Al-Haj, specifically, the center said in a statement. Another person whose identity was not known was also taken to an unknown location, the prisoners group said. An Israeli military spokeswoman had no immediate comment. Al-Haj is considered a prominent party official. He served as the movement's front man in Jenin and represented Hamas in the factional coordinating committee that eventually led to a unity deal last week. He has spent years in Israeli custody, including three without charge under Israel's "administrative detention" policy. It allows Israel to jail Paleostinians for six-month periods which can be extended. According to the Ahrar center, the arrests were intended to thwart the unity deal. On Friday, Israel's army jugged five Paleostinians in the same area. An undercover unit raided Jenin refugee camp and seized Islamic Jihad leader Bassam As-Saadi, who had recently been released from prison after completing an eight-year jail term. Soldiers forced family members into one room while they searched the house and eventually departed with As-Saadi, who was bound before being taken to an unknown location, his wife told Ma'an. Four residents of a village near Jenin were also seized. They were identified as Hasen Mustafa Jaradat, Hussein Rafiq Jaradat, and brothers Hussein and Munteser Ahmad Jaradat. An undercover unit joined the army in the operation, witnesses said. They fired bullets and stun grenades at homes, and soldiers beat several residents after cuffing them outside their houses. The operation came a day after soldiers stepped out of a Mercedes with Paleostinian license plates at 2 a.m. and entered the home of an Islamic Jihad leader in Arraba village. Tareq Qadan, an Islamic Jihad leader in the north, was taken from his home in his night clothes by five soldiers and shoved into the unmarked car parked outside the two-story building, witnesses said. His sister said Qadan opened the door when he heard shouts from outside. As soon as the door opened, she said, "five soldiers broke into the house and took his wife into one room, and my brother outside." She added Qadan had asked to see his ailing mother before he was taken away, and to notify his brother that he should keep watch over the elderly woman: "They refused his request and took him in his pajamas." An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed at the time that there was one arrest carried out in the village. She declined comment on the nature of the operation and alleged use of an unmarked vehicle. Posted by: Fred 2011-05-08 |
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