Palestinian group denounces US handing over Al-Ashqar to Israel

The Council on International Relations Palestine has denounced the US authorities for handing over former Palestinian presidential candidate Abdul Halim Al-Ashqar to Israel.

The council declared in a statement yesterday that the US authorities shall assume full responsibility for Al-Ashqar whose fate is in the hands of the criminal occupation.

The council noted that this move uncovers the US administration’s approach which is hostile to the Palestinian people and to stability and peace in the region through its blatant bias towards the unjust occupation and its ongoing crimes.

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The statement has noted that the US administration unfairly sentenced Al-Ashqar to 11 years in prison after being abducted and placed under house arrest for nearly two years on a charge that does not exceed six months in prison. It also stressed that US authorities are targeting Palestinian activists and scientists.

The council called on the international community, human rights groups and organisations around the world to exert pressure to release Al-Ashqar, stressing the need for the US administration to reconsider its policies in the region which contradict its claim to be an honest broker and guarantor of the peace process.

Relevant sources reported that, on Wednesday night, the US handed Al-Ashqar to the Israeli occupation after he served 11 years in American jails.