Hamas denies contact with Saudi Arabia for release of detainees

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement has denied claims by the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV station that the movement has contacted Riyadh to ask for the release of its members who are detained in Saudi Arabia. Hamas described the report as completely fabricated and baseless.

The movement added that it values its Arab and Islamic roots and builds its relationships accordingly. “Hamas is committed to its principles and national project and to its service for the Palestinian people inside and outside the nation, with the aim of achieving their aspirations for freedom, return, and self-determination.”

Hamas has called on Al Mayadeen, which is known for its sympathies with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, to “ensure accuracy and credibility in news reporting, and not to depend on unreliable sources that harm our people’s struggle, our movement, and our resistance.”

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The disputed claim in question is built upon the fact that, in 2019, more than 60 Palestinians and Jordanians living and working in the kingdom were arrested by the Saudi state security apparatus under the pretext of financially supporting Palestinian factions.

They included 82-year-old Mohamed Al-Khodari and his son Hani. Mohamed Al-Khodari was the official Hamas representative in Saudi Arabia. He suffers from prostate cancer and needs medical care which has not been provided to him in prison.

In April 2021, security forces raided his house and interrogated his 70-year-old wife, Wejdan, forcing her to sign an undertaking that prevents her from talking about her husband’s condition to the media. Her telephone was confiscated.