Jerusalem lawmaker detained; expulsion expected
Ma’an – 30/06/2010
Jerusalem resident and elected Palestinian official Mohammad Abu Tier was detained by Israeli police on Wednesday, and reportedly taken to the Russian Compound for questioning.
Former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs for the Palestinian Authority Khalid Abu Arafa confirmed the arrest, which he said was carried out near the official’s Sur Baher home, in a neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
According to a report in Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper, police representatives will submit a request to Israeli courts on Thursday, requesting that the official remain in police custody.
Abu Arafah said that the move was in preparation for the execution of deportation orders okayed by and Israeli court last week. The orders would see Abu Tier stripped of his Jerusalem residency card and prohibited from accessing the city.
The former minister called the detention of an elected official “beyond the red line,” and said it demonstrated Israel’s willingness to expel all Palestinian leaders from the city, starting with Abu Tier, and the three other officials – including himself – who were elected in the 2006 Palestinian vote with Hamas.
An Israeli police source said Abu Tier was not part of a deal made by Palestinian Authority officials from Ramallah. President Mahmoud Abbas met with the four lawmakers on Friday, and following the meeting sources within the PA said a deal had been struck to ensure the lawmakers were not expelled from their native Jerusalem.
A second police source said Abu Tier would go before the Jerusalem court and be deported to the West Bank or Gaza.
Earlier reports said the four men would have to renounce their affiliation with the Hamas movement if they hoped to remain in Jerusalem.
Deportation orders had been handed down in 2006 when the four were elected, but were only handed out within the past months, following the activation of Israel’s military orders 1649 and 1650, which expanded the definition of infiltrator to any individuate living in an Israeli-controlled area without express permission by unidentified Israeli bodies.
Other PLC members targeted in the expulsion include Mohammed Totach and Ahmed Atoun. All four were given until July to leave Jerusalem.
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