Israeli forces arrest Palestinian Hamas MP Sheikh Hassan Yousef for no apparent reason

Sheikh Hassan Yousef (Photo: PressTV)

Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

After six years in an Israeli prison and only 28 days of freedom, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a senior Hamas official and lawmaker in Palestine, was arrested by Israelis at a military checkpoint.

However, these numbers above, reported by Iranian news agency Press TV, are contradicted by an Israeli source.

AFP has reported that Yousef was taken at a checkpoint north of the city of Ramallah while traveling with his family.

Yousef was returning from the town of Jenin in the northern West Bank with family members when he was seized by the Israel Defense Forces.

This arrest was allegedly part of “recent security measures taken in the wake of intelligence reports claiming that terror groups were planning a major attack in Israel’s south” according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

Yousef was reportedly transported to a military detention facility after being held for “a few” hours at the Tapuach junction near Nablus, according to Haaretz.

Contrary to the article published by Press TV, Haaretz says that Yousef “was released from Israeli prison last years (sic) after five years for his involvement in terror activities.”

Ehud Barak, Israel’s Minister of Defense, said that the IDF is on “high alert” due to the fact that they believe another attack “similar in part to the attack which occurred 10 days ago” could happen again in southern Israel.

Barak also claimed, without as much as a single scrap of evidence to support the accusation, that “responsibility stems from the Gaza strip” for the recent attacks in Israel.

Interestingly, even though Hamas has repeatedly denounced the attacks and has even made efforts to find and arrest militants in their territory, Barak alleges that, “It is not just Islamic Jihad but also Hamas” who are to be held responsible.

Barak said, “We are determined to strike at those carrying out the attacks, to take action as much as possible to intercept the attack,” but hopefully Barak is not speaking of the usual Israeli method of striking at all Palestinians because they believe they are carrying out the attacks.

Why exactly Sheikh Hassan Yousef was detained has not been made public, other than their crackdown in the wake of intelligence which allegedly indicates increased risks of terror attacks.
We do know that Sheikh Hassan Yousef’s son, Mosab Hassan Yousef, served as an informant for Israeli intelligence service Shin Bet for over a decade, providing priceless information to the Israelis.

He garnered the nickname “the Green Prince” and allegedly provided intelligence that directly led to the discovery and break up of numerous terrorist cells, the prevention of dozens of suicide bombings and even assassination attempts on Israeli figures according to Haaretz.

Even the Jerusalem Post can’t figure out why exactly the man described as a “senior leader” in Hamas by Palestinian news organization Ma’an was arrested.

The Jerusalem Post said today that “It was unclear why Yousef was arrested” while also giving a number contradicting that reported by Haaretz for the time spent by Yousef in Israeli prison.

While Haaretz claims it was five years and he was released “last years (sic)”, the Jerusalem Post and Press TV both put this number at six years.

A newspaper allegedly affiliated with Hamas, al Resalah, characterized Yousef as one of the most prominent and popular Hamas officials in the occupied West Bank territories.

In a “good gesture” as the Jerusalem Post put it, Yousef was released with roughly 200 other Palestinian prisoners early for the holiday of Ramadan.

While the IDF and other Israeli news sources can’t seem to tell why exactly Yousef was arrested, it appears that it could be related to the Palestinian bid for recognition from the United Nations and an attempt to weaken this by removing a key part of the Hamas party structure.

We will continue to update you on this issue and the developments as Palestine pushes for their rightful place as a sovereign state under the United Nations.

Sources:
Israel arrests two Palestinians
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/196945.html
IDF arrests top Hamas official in West Bank amid heightened security alert
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-arrests-top-hamas-official-in-west-bank-amid-heightened-security-alert-1.381946
Hamas leader arrested in W. Bank weeks after his release
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=236271