Hamas Releases 45 Political Prisoners, Fatah Unsatisfied

 Palestinian students supporting the Fatah movement flash victory signs as they take part in an election campaign for the student council at the Birzeit University campus in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri
Palestinian students supporting the Fatah movement flash victory signs as they take part in an election campaign for the student council at the Birzeit University campus in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri
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Hamas Releases 45 Political Prisoners, Fatah Unsatisfied

 Palestinian students supporting the Fatah movement flash victory signs as they take part in an election campaign for the student council at the Birzeit University campus in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri
Palestinian students supporting the Fatah movement flash victory signs as they take part in an election campaign for the student council at the Birzeit University campus in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri

Hamas’ Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip announced the release of 45 convicts and detainees as part of efforts to prepare a suitable internal environment for the holding of general elections.

In a statement, the ministry said that the Military Judicial Authority and the competent security agencies have studied the cases of a number of prisoners who have been sentenced and arrested over security issues, adding that 45 convicted and arrested persons were released.

The Ministry of the Interior noted that all the reviewed cases had nothing to do with political or partisan activity or expression of opinion.

Hamas commended the move, saying that the measure was a reflection of the Gazan authorities’ keenness to create a more positive environment ahead the general elections, and to ensure commitment to the outcomes of the February 2021 Cairo Dialogue.

The movement called on both Fatah and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to help prepare a suitable environment for the peaceful holding of the elections, and to stop all forms of prosecution, harassment and summonses, release political detainees, and lift the ban on media freedoms.

As expressed by one of the movement’s leaders, Mustafa Abu Ara, Hamas demanded the authority to release its political prisoners, “just as the security services in Gaza did.”

Hamas’ move came after an argument with the Authority over the issue of political detainees.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh demanded that the movement release 85 “political detainees” in the Gaza Strip, but Hamas denied having “political detainees.”

Fatah responded by saying that Hamas’ step was insufficient.

Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the movement’s central committee, said that the detainees in Gaza were not only 45 people.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”