Bahar: Sentence against Al-Duwaik oppressive, political

[ 17/12/2008 - 10:02 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the acting PLC speaker, has described the Israeli court's ruling against Dr. Aziz Al-Duwaik, the PLC speaker, as oppressive and of political nature, "which we do not recognize".

Dr. Bahar, in a statement on Tuesday after the Israeli occupation government court sentenced Dr. Al-Duwaik to three years in jail for affiliation with Hamas's parliamentary bloc, said that the "Zionist leaders should be the ones to stand trial because they are war criminals".

The court's verdict is a punishment to the democracy pursued by the Palestinian people, he said, adding that Dr. Al-Duwaik was paying the price for his pride and dignity.

Hamas's parliamentary change and reform bloc, for its part, issued a statement on Tuesday denouncing the Israeli court ruling against the "symbol of Palestinian legitimacy".

It asked for the world's intervention to demand freedom for Dr. Al-Duwaik and all Palestinian MPs held in the Israeli occupation jails.

The PA caretaker government in Gaza also issued a statement expressing solidarity with Dr. Al-Duwaik and rejecting the Israeli trial, which it described as an infringement on Palestinian freedoms and democracy.

The government blamed the PA leadership in Ramallah for this result because of its infringement on the Palestinian basic law, democracy and coordination with the Israeli occupation.

Um Hisham, the wife of Dr. Al-Duwaik, said that her husband enjoyed good health and high morale even after hearing the sentence.

She said that Dr. Al-Duwaik, who had already spent 30 months behind bars, should be released after six months in accordance with the Israeli laws.

The Israeli Ofer court had also sentenced MP Anwar Al-Zaboun to 48 months.

Israeli Occupation Government High Court Sentences PLC Head to 36 Months

Wednesday December 17, 2008 04:29 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

On Tuesday, the Israeli occupation government High Court sentenced the elected head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Dr. Aziz Al-Duwaik, to 36 months imprisonment. Acting PLC head, Dr. Ahmed Bahar, described the ruling as unjust and said that Israel does not have the legitimacy to prosecute democratically elected Palestinian officials.

The ruling was made on Tuesday afternoon by the Ofer Israeli occupation military court, near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Dr. Bahar said that the Palestinians and their legislative council do not recognize the Israeli courts, as they are courts formed by the occupation. He added that sentencing Al-Duwaik to 36 months is Israel’s response to democracy as the PLC and its head were democratically elected by the Palestinian people.

He demanded international human rights groups and international parliaments to intervene and ensure the release of Dr. Al-Duwaik as he is the elected head of the PLC.

The wife of Al-Duwaik said, as she was leaving the court room, that the deliberations lasted for two hours and that the court is giving the prosecution a chance to appeal its decision, as the Israeli prosecution will most likely ask for a “harsher punishment”.

Unless transferred to administrative detention after he ends his term, Dr. Al-Duwaik is expected to be released after six months, as he was kidnapped by the Israeli army, along with dozens of elected legislators and officials, in August of 2006.

The Hamas movement said that the this ruling is a blow to Palestinian democracy and legitimacy, as the Hamas-dominated PLC was democratically elected by the Palestinian people during elections that were supervised and monitored by international observers.  

Hamas also held the Palestinian President, Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas, accountable for the ruling of the Israeli court as the movement said that Abbas had “violated the Palestinian legitimacy, disregarded the results of the elections, and continued to coordinate with Israeli security”.

The movement also said that Abbas is using the help of the United States and Israel in an attempt to wipe Hamas out, and force the Palestinians to accept “the Zionist-American plans that aim at protecting the occupation”. 

Hamas: Trial of Al-Duwaik big blow to democracy in the world

[ 16/12/2008 - 08:26 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Hamas Movement has strongly condemned Tuesday the 3 year prison term passed by an Israeli court against PLC speaker MP Dr. Aziz Al-Duwaik, describing the verdict as "trial of the Palestinian democratic choice and of democracy in the world".

"This (trial of Al-Duwaik) is a clear and flagrant reflection of the Zionist arrogance, undermining international law and rejecting of international human rights… it is a programmed Israeli policy that targets the national symbols of the Palestinian people with the aim to impose facts on the ground in service to the occupation", Hamas underlined in a statement it issued in this regard, and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC.

But the Movement made it clear that it neither recognizes the Israeli occupation nor the Israeli "racist" courts, urging international human rights organizations to carryout their mandates in bridling the Israeli snubbing of the parliamentary immunity that Al-Duwaik enjoys by virtue of his position as the president of the democratically-elected  PA parliament.

Moreover, the Movement blamed the "wrong practices" of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, who, according to the statement, breached the PA basic law, violated liberties of the Palestinian people, and preserved security coordination with the Israeli occupation army with the aim to push Hamas to the corner and to subjugate it to the Israeli dictates and security schemes.

Nevertheless, Hamas vowed to continue the path of resistance and liberation despite the cost it might pay for those stands.

Finally, the Movement hailed Al-Duwaik and his detained colleagues in the Palestinian parliament for the exemplary braveness they have demonstrated during the court hearings, and for adhering to the national constants and legal rights of the Palestinian people, vowing not to abandon them, and to work for their immediate release.