Hamas: Saudi authorities arrests 62 Palestinians for their charitable activities
The head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Ismail Haniyeh, stressed that his movement’s relationship with Arab and Islamic countries is “good”, and that the Arabs support Palestinian cause.
But Haniyeh said in TV statements that “there is a painful page in the relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is responsible for the arrest of 62 activists, headed by the movement’s representative in the Kingdom.”
Hamas disclosed, for the first time in September 2019, that the Saudi State Security Investigation Service arrested one of its leaders and representative in the Kingdom, Dr. Mohammed Saleh Al-Khudari (Abu Hani), since April of the same year.
Hamas said that Al-Khudari’s arrest came as part of a campaign that targeted many Palestinian people residing in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Khudari, 81, who suffers from a “chronic illness”, is a doctor who specializes in ENT. He participated in the interview that brought together the late King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, and the late leader of Hamas, the martyr Ahmed Yassin, in 1998.
Haniyeh said: “We are all hopeful that our brothers in the Kingdom will fold this page. We are concerned with a good relationship with the Kingdom. The brothers of the Arab and Islamic peoples shall not be arrested in any of the Arab countries.”
The Saudi trials and regulations for detainees are regrettable, painful, and unpredictable for any Arab judiciary towards any Palestinian living for the cause of the nation.
He stated that the detainees in the Kingdom are being tried for charitable works that were provided to t Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinians in the Diaspora, the poor of Gaza, and the Palestinian territories.
In March, a Saudi court held a trial session for a number of Palestinian and Jordanian detainees, including the representative of Hamas and his son, “Hani,” and charged them with two charges: membership in a terrorist organization and fundraising.
On the basis of this development, the leader of the Yemeni al-Houthi group, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, announced last March its willingness to release five Saudis, including a pilot, in exchange for the release of Hamas members arrested in the kingdom.
Haniyeh commented: “We welcomed the Houthi initiative, and we thanked them, but there is no serious and real movement built on this initiative.”
The head of Hamas called on the Saudi monarch to release the detained brothers, adding: “We are on the threshold of Eid Al-Fitr, and we hope that it will be a bright page for the release of these detainees.”
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor had documented months ago testimonies from 11 Palestinian families whose children were subjected to arrest or enforced disappearance during the last months during their stay or visit to the Kingdom and among them were students, residents, academics, and businessmen, as they were isolated from the outside world without specific accusation sheets or presented to the competent authority (Public Prosecution) They were not allowed to communicate with their families or to communicate with their lawyers.
Euro-Med Monitor called on the Saudi authorities to immediately reveal the numbers of Palestinians arrested in the Kingdom who were subjected to enforced disappearance without charges or violations.
