SANAA, March. 28 (Saba) - The Islamic resistance movement Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) praised the Initiative of Mr. Abdul Malik Badreddin al-Houthi , to release a pilot and four Saudi officers soldiers, in exchange for the release of Palestinians detained by the Saudi authorities on the pretext of supporting the resistance.
In a statement received by Saba, Hamas hailed an offer by the leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah to release several Saudi captives in exchange for the release of members of the Palestinian resistance movement currently being held in the kingdom.
Hamas stressed that the question of Palestine was and will remain the universal cause of the Arab-Islamic nation. Calling on all to unite their efforts to support the Palestinian people and their just cause.
The Palestinian resistance movement then thanked Ansarullah for “the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity with Palestinian people.”
Hamas also reiterated its call on Saudi authorities to release all Palestinian prisoners, “on top of whom is Dr. Muhammad al-Khudari.”
The Palestinian movement noted that it has been contacting the Saudi leadership throughout last year in a bid to reach a deal on the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas concluded its statement by assuring that the Palestinian cause will thrive, calling upon Muslims worldwide to support the Palestinian people and their righteous cause.
On March 22, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas political bureau, in a letter addressed to the Saudi monarch Salman pleaded with him to make a quick decision and order the freedom of Palestinian detainees in Saudi prisons.
In light of the pandemic of the novel coronavirus that has spread across the globe, due to fears for the lives of our honorable brethren and given all humanitarian and religious considerations … the release of the Palestinians becomes a humanitarian and national necessity.
Palestinian families and human rights groups have called on Saudi authorities to immediately release the Palestinians, citing the threat posed by the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the highly contagious new coronavirus.
Sayyid Abdul-Malik al-Houthi condemned the Saudi authorities’ kidnapping and prosecution of Hamas members, stressing Yemen’s firm position in standing by the Palestinian people and condemning all forms of conspiracy against it.
The Leader said the Saudi regime is persecuting Palestinians for being mujahedeen in the Palestinian resistance.
Sayyid Abdul-Malik al-Houthi praised the honorable positions of all the supporters and solidarity with the Yemeni people, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran, which he said had “the clearest and most sincere position despite suffering an unjust blockade and targeting.”
The Leader of the Revolution also praised the positive, solidarity and pro-Yemeni stance of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the free peoples of Iraq, Syria and the rest of the world.
Families of the detainees, some of whom are in their 80s, say the Palestinians have been denied access to lawyers and visitation rights, and authorities have recently begun reducing phone call access.
Umm Qusai al-Haddad, who was born in Saudi Arabia but now lives in Gaza City, said she feared for the safety of her father Suleiman, 67, and her two brothers, Yahya, 40, and Muhammad, 38, all of whom have been in Saudi detention since 2018.
She said Saudi authorities had repeatedly withheld information from the family, including their recent court session on March 8.
Last month, the Prisoners of Conscience, a non-governmental organization advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia, announced in a post on its official Twitter page that Saudi authorities had launched a new campaign of "arbitrary" arrests against Palestinian expatriates living in the kingdom on charges of supporting Hamas.
On October 21 last year, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Arabic-language Shehab news agency that Palestinians being held at prisons and detention centers in Saudi Arabia are exposed to various forms of torture and cruel methods of interrogation.
“Unfortunately, there is a harsh investigation procedure against the detainees, some of whom are subjected to various forms of torture. Interrogators of different nationalities are questioning them,” he said back then.
“There are about 60 Palestinian detainees [in Saudi jails], and some of them are the sons or supporters of Hamas. Some of them have even lived more than three decades in the kingdom and greatly contributed to the construction of the country.”
He further noted that Hamas has made great efforts, either through contacts with a number of countries or Saudi officials, to secure the release of the Palestinian inmates but all to no avail.
Palestinians has praised an offer by the leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement to free several Saudi captives in exchange for the release of members of the Palestinian resistance movement currently being held in the kingdom.
The Palestinians then thanked Ansarullah for “the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity with Palestinian people.”
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also said in a statement that Ansarullah's initiative reflects the Yemeni people's enduring and genuine stance on supporting Palestine and its people campaign against Israeli regime and a symbol of the solidarity of Muslim countries to fight the occupiers.
Mona.M