Israeli court rejects Palestinian MP's appeal against detention without charge

An Israeli court has rejected the appeal made on behalf of Palestinian MP Ahmed Attoun against his detention without charge. Instead, the court in Jerusalem confirmed the six-month “administrative detention” order.

A statement issued by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Centre for Studies pointed out that the Israeli occupation authorities re-kidnapped Mr. Attoun last year in Ramallah. He was exiled from his home city of Jerusalem in 2011 after taking refuge in the grounds of the International Red Cross in the Holy City for several months in protest at the attempts to deport him on the grounds that he is a “threat to Israeli security”.

The MP, who has been arrested a number of times by the Israelis, was detained again six weeks ago during a campaign of arrests that targeted many of the Palestinian Legislative Council members and leaders of Hamas in the occupied West Bank.

The Prisoners’ Centre called on the world’s parliamentarians to intervene to protect the elected members of the PLC from Israeli arrest and harassment. Fifteen elected representatives are being detained without charge – under so-called “administrative detention” – by Israel.