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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel releases Palestinian minister held in East Jerusalem |
| 2006-04-06 |
| The Shin Bet security service on Thursday released Khaled Abu Arafa, the Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, a few hours after they detained him as he made his way from Jerusalem to Azzariyeh, close to the eastern part of the city. Border Policemen in jeeps appeared to have been waiting for Abu Arafa, Hamas officials said, and stopped his car as it headed toward Azzariyeh. Abu Arafa, an independent in the Hamas-led government, was apparently en route to the office of his Fatah predecessor Ziad Abu Ziad for a handover ceremony. His bodyguard was also detained. "They stopped the car and asked the minister to get out and when he refused they forced him by pointing the rifle in his face," a Hamas source said. Israeli security sources confirmed the arrest, saying Abu Arafa, a resident of the East Jerusalem village of Abu Dis, was detained for trying to enter the Palestinian territories with his Israeli ID card. He was released a few hours later. Israelis are banned from entering the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Ahmed Jalajel, a photographer for the Arabic Al-Quds daily, was in the car with the minister when he was taken into custody. "They asked us for ID, they said 'get out.' He [Abu Arafa] said 'I am not getting out.' They opened the car and pushed him out," Jalajel told The Associated Press. "They asked him to sit down on the ground, and then they checked the IDs. They asked him to get into their jeep. He refused, then they pushed him into the jeep," Jalajel said, adding that he tried to take a picture but the security forces broke his camera. This is the first time Israel has arrested a minister in the Hamas-led government, sworn in last week after winning a landslide victory in January's parliamentary elections. Abu Arafa, a Jerusalem resident born in 1961, has been arrested by Israel several times in the past. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 he also doesn't follow orders |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-04-06 14:28 |
| #1 Passing the microdots? |
| Posted by: 6 2006-04-06 13:13 |