Israel releases Hamas Member of Parliament
Dozens of Hamas lawmakers arrested after militants seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalitin in 2006
Agence France Presse, Nov 1, 2009
HEBRON, West Bank (AFP) – Israel on Sunday released Hamas MP Hatem Qafisha after a year in detention, allowing him to return to his home in the West Bank city of Hebron.
The 49-year-old Palestinian was greeted by members of his family and officials of the Islamist movement Hamas, including parliament speaker Abdel Aziz Doweik.
Doweik himself was only released in June after spending three years in Israeli prison, while Qafisha has spent a total of 10 years behind bars in several stints.
Hamas won 74 seats in the Palestinian parliament at the last election in 2005, when president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement took only 45 places.
Israel arrested dozens of Hamas lawmakers across the West Bank after the Islamists and other Gaza militants seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid in June 2006. Shalit remains in captivity to this day.
According to Hamas officials, 15 MPs are still held in Israeli prisons, including 12 from the Islamist movement.
Copyright © 2009 Agence France Presse
