The top Hamas official was arrested at his Shechem home on August 19th as part of the summer sweep that rounded up dozens of PA government legislators and cabinet ministers who belong to the terror organization. Al-Shaer was the highest-ranking Hamas minister taken into custody by the IDF.
The dragnet came in the wake of the abduction of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit on June 25th by Hamas terrorists, with most of the Hamas lawmakers taken into custody within days of the kidnapping. Al-Shaer had not been home during the initial roundup and managed to avoid arrest for several weeks.
“The court admitted there was not enough evidence to keep him in jail,” said his attorney, Osama al-Sa’adi - though Al-Shaer was banned from going to his PA government office in Ramallah for the next two weeks.
Four Hamas cabinet ministers and 30 legislators are still jailed in Israel. A military court decided this week against releasing 21 Hamas legislators from jail, keeping them in prison on charges of membership in a terrorist organization until the end of the legal proceedings.
The decision reversed a recent ruling by Military Judge Maj. Ronen Atzmon, who ordered them released - leading to a government appeal blocking the order. He questioned the timing of the arrests, saying Israel should have done so when they were elected to the PA government nine months ago.
The stark contrast between the legislative status of the prisoners and their terror group membership, however, prompted Judge Col. Sha’ul Gordon to point out that people who clearly state they want to destroy Israel cannot be set free on bail. “This duality cannot exist…. the defendants need to decide where they are heading.”
The dragnet came in the wake of the abduction of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit on June 25th by Hamas terrorists, with most of the Hamas lawmakers taken into custody within days of the kidnapping. Al-Shaer had not been home during the initial roundup and managed to avoid arrest for several weeks.
“The court admitted there was not enough evidence to keep him in jail,” said his attorney, Osama al-Sa’adi - though Al-Shaer was banned from going to his PA government office in Ramallah for the next two weeks.
Four Hamas cabinet ministers and 30 legislators are still jailed in Israel. A military court decided this week against releasing 21 Hamas legislators from jail, keeping them in prison on charges of membership in a terrorist organization until the end of the legal proceedings.
The decision reversed a recent ruling by Military Judge Maj. Ronen Atzmon, who ordered them released - leading to a government appeal blocking the order. He questioned the timing of the arrests, saying Israel should have done so when they were elected to the PA government nine months ago.
The stark contrast between the legislative status of the prisoners and their terror group membership, however, prompted Judge Col. Sha’ul Gordon to point out that people who clearly state they want to destroy Israel cannot be set free on bail. “This duality cannot exist…. the defendants need to decide where they are heading.”