Palestinian man freed after 14 years, and then rearrested

Palestinian man freed after 14 years, and then rearrested
After a few days of freedom, a Palestinian man was rearrested by police after spending more than a decade in Israeli prison.
2 min read
20 August, 2016
Israeli police rearrested Abdo just days after his release [AFP]
Jerusalem police said on Friday they have rearrested a Palestinian man days after he completed a 14-year prison sentence.

A police statement said the man was detained on Thursday in the Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber, where he lives.

The man was identified by locals and police as Sufian Fakhri Abdo.

Local Palestinian sources told Maan News that Abdo will reportedly be presented to a judge at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on "incitement" charges, after which the judge will decide whether to extend his detention or not.

"Police units arrest terrorist from Jabal Mukaber who served 14 years in prison for terrorism," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld posted on his official Twitter account.

"He was arrested again for supporting terrorism."

Rosenfeld did not identify the man, but media named him as Sufian Abdu, an accomplice in an alleged 2002 plan by Palestinian cook Othman Qihanya to poison customers at west Jerusalem landmark Cafe Rimon.

Abdu had left prison only three days before his rearrest.

Israeli public radio said he was picked up again because of "the waving of Hamas flags and the voicing of calls to violence and incitement against Israel" at a welcome party for the newly arrested man.

In recent months, Israel has detained Palestinians for "incitement" on social media, holding them responsible for fueling a popular uprising last October.