Israel releases Hamas senior, could mean deal en route
The release of Hamas official Muhammad Abu Tir and the ensuing calm could signal that Israel and Hamas are creeping toward an arrangement.
On Oct. 10, Israel freed senior Hamas member Muhammad Abu Tir from administrative detention. Abu Tir, who serves as Hamas' representative in the Palestinian parliament, had been arrested by Israel on several occasions since 2006. The last time he was detained, this past March, the Israel Defense Forces arrested him on suspicion of involvement in terror activity. He was arrested at his home in the the Umm al-Shrait neighborhood near the Palestinian Authority capital of Ramallah. He had moved there after Israel revoked his permanent residency permit, forcing him to relocate from his home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Umm Tuba. He has been detained off and on over the years and brought to court multiple times for repeatedly violating the ban on him entering Jerusalem.
Abu Tir, 67, has spent 37 years of his life in Israeli jails. Upon his release, he told Al-Monitor, “I don’t know why I was detained and no one told me what I am accused of.” He added that he had spent the past seven months in the Ofer military prison and was not allowed to meet with a lawyer.
