Israeli forces arrest Palestinian human rights
activist
24 April 2001
At Rafah border crossing yesterday, Israeli forces
arrested attorney Adnan Ibrahim Al Hajar, 33, coordinator of the Legal
Unit at Gaza’s Al Mezan Human Rights Center. Al Hajar, from Jabalia
refugee camp, is a human rights activist and defence lawyer for Palestinian
detainees in Israeli prisons. Al Hajar was returning from Egypt with
a Palestinian delegation that had taken part in a course on legislation
– ‘Empowering the Work of the Palestinian Legislative Council’ - organised
by the Arab World Center for Research and Training. The delegation
left Gaza on April 5 and returned on April 23. Al Hajar’s arrest,
part of Israel’s aggressive policy against human rights lawyers and
journalists, is yet another attack on Palestinians who speak out against
Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights, especially during
the Intifada. Palestinian human rights activists have been working
hard to draw world attention to Israel’s grave violations of Palestinian
human rights. Law Society is very concerned about Al Hajar’s arrest
and calls on human rights organisations to expose Israel’s attempt
to silence human rights activists and pressurise the Israeli government
to release Al Hajar immediately.