Bahar: PA arrest of MPs foolish

Acting speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Dr. Ahmed Bahar has described as a “foolish” step the Ramallah  PA”s detention of Hamas MPs.

Bahar in a press release on Sunday said that the irrational act would threaten the Palestinian national dialog, charging Fatah leader and former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas with lacking the intention to forge a reconciliation pact.

He said that the security apparatuses” act in the West Bank was in violation of the parliamentary immunity of those lawmakers and in violation of the PLC and the Palestinian people in general.

The acting speaker asked all parliamentary blocs to condemn the act and to stand united in face of such behavior in a bid to prevent its recurrence.

For its part, the Hamas-affiliated change and reform bloc issued a statement strongly denouncing the security apparatuses” step and the immoral treatment of those MPs.

It expressed surprise that the step coincided with the talks between representatives of Fatah and Hamas to settle pending issues topped by arbitrary arrests.

The security forces in the West Bank on Sunday intercepted the motorcade of the Hamas deputies Fathi Al-Qarawi, Mona Mansour, Mariam Saleh, Mahmoud Musleh and Dr. Mahmoud Al-Ramahi while en route from Beit Sahur to Beit Jala in Bethlehem.

Ramahi described the interception as “barbaric”, adding that Hamas MPs had just concluded visits to a number of families of MPs detained in Israeli occupation jails.

The lawmaker said that the step would carry a big negative impact on the atmosphere of dialog and national conciliation.