Palestinian court orders release of Hamas fighter; security forces refuse the order

Thursday August 09, 2007 18:51 by Najeep Faraj - IMEMC News

The Palestinian court in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem has orders on Thursday the release of Yasser Abed Al Majeed, a Hamas fighter, but the local security forces loyal to the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah refused to release the man.

Abed Al Majeed and other 12 Palestinians were arrested by the Palestinian security forces in Bethlehem after being accused of attempting to form an executive force division in the city of Bethlehem.

The executive force, formed by Hamas after the party took office last year, was declared illegal by the Fateh-affiliated President Mahmoud Abbas two months ago.

Abbas declared the force illegal shortly after Hamas took total control of the Gaza strip two months ago.

The court ordered the release of Yasser Abed Al Majeed due to the lack of evidence, but the Fateh-affiliated security forces refused to let him go.

The attorney general in the city also refused on Thursday to attend to one other court hearing for anther two Hamas fighters.  The attorney general apparently feared that the court would also order their release.

For this reason, the judge had to postpone the ruling until next Sunday in the two cases.

Translated by: Ghassan Bannoura- IMEMC News Room

bethlehem | internal unrest | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org