Hamas men convicted by Israel of ‘terror membership’

Palestinians in solidarity with hunger strike prisoner Samer Issawi, who is being held in an Israeli jail, flash the victory sign whilst holding flowers and banners during a protest on Valentine’s Day in Gaza City. A UN official on February 13, expressed concern about the wellbeing of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and in particular about the condition of Issawi.

AFP/JerusalemAn Israeli court yesterday found two senior Hamas members who had taken refuge in Red Cross east Jerusalem offices guilty of “membership of a terror organisation” and staying in Israel without permits. Former Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs Khaled Abu Arafeh and Hamas MP Mohamed Totah had barricaded themselves in the International Committee of the Red Cross offices on July 1, 2010, but were arrested on January 23, 2012. The ICRC compound is in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied east Jerusalem. According to police, the two men both had their Israeli ID cards revoked 18 months before their arrest, meaning they were not legally entitled to be in the city. The ruling yesterday at the Jerusalem district court, provided to AFP, was part of a plea bargain the two reached with the prosecution. Sentencing is due to begin on February 26. Israel has stepped up arrests of Hamas members in the West Bank, in part to prevent a rising tide of low-intensity conflict and civil unrest from turning into an uprising. Last week, 25 Hamas members were arrested in raids across the West Bank, three of them members of the Palestinian parliament. Palestinian security forces rounded up at least 25 more. Hamas has 74 members in the 132-seat Palestinian Authority Legislative Council, which is based in Ramallah. Twelve Hamas lawmakers are currently being held by Israel.