Mohammed Abu Teir and Ahmed Attoun: Another arrest of the deported Jerusalemite MPs
Israeli occupation forces detained two Jerusalemite members of parliament, Mohammad Abu Teir (75) and Ahmad Attoun (57), both of whom are exiled from Jerusalem. They were arrested early Monday morning after their homes in the Bethlehem governorate were raided.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem reported that forces raided MP Mohammad Abu Teir's home in Dar Salah, east of Bethlehem, at dawn. They forced open the door lock and entered unexpectedly as Abu Teir was getting ready for dawn prayers. He was subsequently arrested and taken to a detention center. The details surrounding his arrest are still unclear.
MP Mohammad Abu Teir is a well-known political leader in Jerusalem. Over the years, he has been detained numerous times and has spent about half his life in Israeli prisons. Additionally, security forces stormed MP Ahmed Attoun's home in Beit Sahour, blindfolded and bound him inside before transporting him to the Fureidis camp near the Tekoa settlement. There, he underwent interrogation that involved threats and pressure from intelligence officials. He was released shortly after.
Arrest and deportation: The reality of Jerusalemite MPs since 2006
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that in 2006, the Israeli Interior Minister decided to revoke the residency permits of MPs Mohammad Abu Teir, Ahmad Attoun, and Mohammad Totah, as well as former Jerusalem Affairs Minister Khaled Abu Arafeh, citing "disloyalty to the State of Israel" as the reason. This occurred after their participation in the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council elections, leading to all four being arrested in succession.
In 2010, the three MPs and the former Jerusalem Affairs Minister were issued deportation orders from Jerusalem.
At the end of that same year, Mohammad Abu Teir became the first MP to be deported when he was arrested in Jerusalem on the charge of "illegal residency." He received a five-month prison sentence but was released at the Betonia checkpoint west of Ramallah, effectively banishing him from the city. In 2010, the three MPs launched an open-ended sit-in at the Red Cross headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to protest their deportation orders, following MP Abu Teir's re-arrest.
In September 2011, MP Ahmed Attoun was arrested inside the Red Cross headquarters, and then in January 2012, MP Mohammed Totah and Minister Khaled Abu Arafeh were arrested at the same sit-in location.
