MP arrested for third time in ongoing campaign against Hamas party members in PLC

Tuesday March 13, 2007 12:00

by Maisa Abu Ghazaleh - Palestine News Network

Less than a month after his release from prison, Israeli forces again abducted Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmed Abdel Azziz Mubarak. This is the third time the 43 year old member of the Change and Reform bloc of the PLC has been arrested due to his political affiliation.

Mubarak's wife said that a large contingent of Israeli forces besieged the family home in southern Al Bireh, Ramallah's neighboring city. The invasion began at 3:30 am Monday with Israeli soldiers breaking into all apartments in the Sharait neighborhood building before storming Mubarak's apartment.

She described the raid as “brutal.” Tens of masked soldiers broke into the family's home and rapidly began tearing through the rooms before dragging the Palestinian official into the night. Without allowing him to change out of his pajamas, troops took Mubarak in the back of a jeep to an unknown location.

During his last imprisonment, which ended less than a month ago on 13 February 2007, Mubarak was held for seven months under Administrative Detention, meaning without charge or trial. He was released after an Israeli Appeals Court judge determined that the Israeli military had no grounds on which to continue the detention.

He was first arrested on 26 July 2006 during the Israeli campaign against all PLC members from the Hamas party's Change and Reform Bloc. Also at that time his imprisonment was converted into Administrative Detention after Israeli forces could not find anything with which to charge him.

In addition to being the Rapporteur of the Commission on Refugees in the PLC, Mubarak is a lawyer and the father of seven sons. He grew up in northern Ramallah's Al Jalazun Refugee Camp.