Senior Hamas leader released from prison

Senior Hamas leader in the West Bank Hassan Yousif, who had been held under administrative detention for the past 22 months, was released from prison on Thursday, a Prisons Service spokesman said.

Yousif, a Palestinian lawmaker who helped found Hamas, was arrested in October 2015 after a number of Palestinians carried out stabbing and car ramming attacks against Israelis, especially in Jerusalem.

Administrative detention allows authorities to detain Palestinians without granting them a trial or indicting them. A Shin Bet spokesman said, without elaborating: “It appears that it was no longer necessary [to detain Yousif]. He declined to comment on why Yousif was never brought before a judge or indicted.

At the time of his arrest, an IDF spokesman had said Yousif was arrested for alleged involvement in activities “aimed at inciting Palestinians to commit acts of terrorism.”

Yousif had been held under administrative detention previously; three months before the aforementioned arrest, he had been released after being detained under administrative detention for a year.

Israeli security officials have defended administrative detention, arguing that it allows them to counter security threats without revealing sensitive information or sources in an indictment or courthouse. However, human rights groups have argued that Israeli security services employ administrative detention because they do not have sufficient evidence to issue an indictment, and have called on Israel to end the practice.

Yousif’s son is Musab Yousif, who helped the Shin Bet thwart attacks against Israelis from 1997 to 2007. In 2010, Hasan renounced his relationship with Musab, who has since moved the United States, converted to Christianity, and written a book about his experience serving as an agent for the Shin Bet titled Son of Hamas.

In a separate development on Thursday, circus performer Muhammad Abu Sakha was set free after being detained under administrative detention for 20 months.

At the time of his arrest, the Shin Bet accused Abu Sakha of membership in the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist group.