Hamas Leader Says PA Arrest of Freed Prisoner Asim Abu al-Hija Extends Targeting of Family and Its Struggle History

Hamas leader Abdul Rahman Shadid condemned the arrest of freed prisoner Asim Abu al-Hija by the Preventive Security apparatus, only one month after his release from Israeli occupation prisons, despite his extremely difficult health condition and his urgent need for treatment and medical care.

Shadid said on Saturday evening: “The arrest of Asim is a rejected violation and a dangerous disregard for his health and humanitarian condition, and it comes within a systematic and ongoing targeting of the Abu al-Hija family, which has made great sacrifices in the course of the Palestinian national struggle and has not been spared arrest and persecution over many long years.

He noted that Asim is the son of prisoner and leader Sheikh Jamal Abu al-Hija, who has remained in Israeli occupation prisons for many long years and is one of the symbols of the Palestinian national movement. He added that his two brothers, Abdul Salam and Imad, had previously been subjected to political arrest by the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatuses, while his brother Hamza was killed as a martyr in 2014.

Shadid stressed that it is regrettable that the sons of a family that has made all these sacrifices find themselves facing political arrest and persecution, instead of this family receiving appreciation and support, especially since only one month has passed since Asim’s release from Israeli occupation prisons, and he needs urgent health care.

Shadid demanded that the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatuses immediately release Asim Abu al-Hija, end the policy of political arrest, and stop pursuing freed prisoners, stressing that the continuation of these practices constitutes an affront to the Palestinian national struggle and a blow to efforts aimed at restoring national unity and putting the internal house in order in the face of the occupation.