Israeli Occupation Forces detain Palestinian parliamentarian

Members of the Israel Occupation Forces have broken into the home of an elected Palestinian parliamentarian and taken him to an unknown destination. Dr Hatem Qufaisha was at his home in the south of Hebron (Al-Khalil) when the soldiers burst in at 1am on Monday 18th October. Family members have confirmed that their house was surrounded during the operation; the soldiers allowed Dr. Qufaisha to get dressed before they took him away.

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The Israeli authorities only released the MP from custody in November 2009 after holding him for 18 months in “administrative detention”. He has now been arrested three times since the start of the current parliamentary session.

Dr. Qufaisha is a well-known political figure in Hebron; his brother Subhi has been targeted by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah as well as the Israelis. Subhi is currently held in the Occupation Forces’ Ofer prison serving a three-month “administrative detention” sentence.

The International Campaign for the Release of Kidnapped Deputies condemned the detention of Hatem Qufaisha and called for Israeli Occupation officials responsible for crimes against the Palestinian people and their elected representatives to be prosecuted.