GAZA - Israeli soldiers detained a Hamas-led Palestinian Cabinet Minister at gunpoint on a roadblock in Jerusalem early today morning. Khaled Abu Arafa, who is an independent minister for Jerusalem affairs in the new Hamas-led government in Palestine, was released about five hours later.
Arafa was arrested as he attempted to cross into the West Bank suburb of Izzariya where he was slated to attend a handover ceremony and take charge of the office of his predecessor Ziad Abu Zayyad. The army on its part said that Arafa was detained since he is barred from the area. "The Hamas minister was detained at about 9 a.m. (0600 GMT). He was not questioned at any point and was released at 2 p.m. (1100 GMT)," an army spokesman confirmed.
Israel has not recognized the Hamas government and has maintained that its ministers are not welcome in Israel. In fact, Arafa was arrested although he legally carries an Israeli ID because he lives in Arab East Jerusalem. This area was taken over by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war. This move is not recognized internationally.
Ahmed Jalajel, a photographer for the Arabic Al-Quds daily, who witnessed the arrest and detention of Arafa described it thus to the Associated Press, "They asked us for ID, they said 'get out.' He [Abu Arafa] said 'I am not getting out.' They opened the car and pushed him out. They asked him to sit down on the ground, and then they checked the IDs. They asked him to get into their jeep. He refused, then they pushed him into the Jeep."
Reacting to this arrest, Muhammad Abu Tir, who is a high-ranking official in the Hamas administration said that it was another attempt by the Israelis to undermine the Palestine government.
"This is only one more way to disrupt our activity but the Government and Hamas movement will continue to act on behalf of the Palestinians in the Jerusalem region," he stressed. Meanwhile, Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the Palestinian cabinet said, "The arrest of a cabinet minister proves the falseness of Israel's arguments that it seeks peace."
