Palestinian Parliament speaker Aziz Dweik is being held by Israel along with dozens of other parliamentarians STRASBOURG, February 1, 2012 (WAFA) – A group of 26 members of the European Parliament Wednesday called on Israel to release 26 Palestinian lawmakers it is holding in prison, including the speaker of the Palestinian parliament. In a letter of appeal, the 26 European Union parliamentarians, who represent a broad spectrum of the European parties, urged “the EU and its Member States to take immediate action” in order to ensure the release of all detained members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). They recalled the European Parliament resolution of September 4, 2008 calling for “the immediate release of the imprisoned members of the Palestinian Legislative Council including Marwan Barghouti.” The EU lawmakers condemned the arrest of PLC speaker Aziz Dweik, who was arrested two weeks ago and sentenced to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial, a...

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- An Israeli military court on Tuesday ordered the detention of Palestinian parliamentary speaker Aziz Dweik for six months without charge. Dweik, who was seized by Israeli forces at a Ramallah checkpoint on Thursday, heads the Palestinian Legislative Council. His lawyer Fadi Qawasmi said Ofer military court gave the administrative detention order early Tuesday, after a Sunday hearing was postponed. The PLC speaker's office denounced the order as an "abusive decision without any charge or legal justification," accusing Israel of trying to stop a parliamentary session scheduled for next month. "It is an Israeli attempt to thwart Palestinian reconciliation," the statement said. more

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Thursday detained the head of the Palestinian Legislative Council Aziz Dweik at a checkpoint near Jerusalem, witnesses said. Israeli soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded Dweik and took him to an unknown destination, witnesses told Ma'an. An Israeli military spokesman had no immediate comment on the report. Some 23 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council are currently imprisoned in Israel, according to the prisoner rights group Addameer. more

pic: Bernat Armangue Reporting from Jerusalem - Israel freed the most senior Hamas leader in its prisons Tuesday after prosecutors failed to persuade a military court to prolong his three-year sentence. The release of Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Authority parliament, fed speculation that Israel was on the verge of a deal to secure the return of a captured soldier in exchange for hundreds of Hamas prisoners. Such a swap has been the aim of sporadic negotiations mediated by Egypt, but Israeli and Hamas officials said they had no information about a breakthrough. more

Use the model letter below to send your protests to the British Foreign Office over the treatment of the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners being illegally held in Israel's prisons: Rt. Hon. David Miliband Foreign Secretary, London SW1 Dear Mr. Miliband Justice for Palestinian prisoners I am writing about the plight of the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners held by the illegal occupying power. There have been protests all over the Middle East to coincide with a hunger strike held by Ahmad Sa’adat, a prominent prisoner held in illegal detention by the State of Israel. The British government have an historic responsibility towards the whole Palestinian people, from the Mandate period to the present day. They have a special responsibility towards Mr. Sa’adat , whom they were jointly guarding on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, and who they then allowed to be seized by the occupiers of his birth place. Mr. Sa’adat is suffering from back pain, but true to form his captors have denied him medici...