The police freed Palestinian activist Faisal Husseini on Monday, triggering a stormier political outcry than the one set off by his arrest four days earlier.
Leftists said Husseini’s release only confirmed their original charge that his detention last Friday was a concession to the vocal right, which had been demanding it.
The right wing now is accusing the government of succumbing to political pressure, especially from the United States, which rebuked Israel for detaining Husseini.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir insisted Monday that both Husseini’s arrest and release were legal and non-political.
A resident of East Jerusalem, Husseini has been one of the most prominent advocates of non-violent Palestinian resistance to the Israeli presence in the administered territories.
But many Israelis are convinced that he is the arch leader of the intifada. Last Friday, the authorities apparently believed they had the evidence to press charges.
Husseini was arrested technically on suspicion of helping a terrorist cell active in Jerusalem. The police asked to hold him for 15 days while they prepared formal charges.
The court granted them only four days. Rumors circulated Sunday that they would apply for an extension.
Instead, Husseini was released on his own recognizance and a promise to appear for questioning if summoned.
He narrowly escaped physical harm as he left the Jerusalem jail shortly before noon Monday, surrounded by jubilant Palestinian and Israeli supporters.
MENACING CROWDS OF KACH ACTIVISTS
They were menaced by crowds of right-wing Jews, mostly followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s extremist Kach movement, who attempted to assault Husseini and his friends.
He barely made it to a waiting car, escorted by two Arab Knesset members, Mohammed Miari and Abd-el Wahab Darousha. A few fistfights broke out in the crowd.
Husseini told a packed news conference at the National Palace Hotel in East Jerusalem later that his arrest was politically motivated.
He said the authorities were trying to abort his outreach campaign to convince the Israeli public to back negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Husseini has been speaking to peace groups all over Israel along those lines since last month, when he was barred from entering the West Bank or traveling abroad.
Husseini denied he had any role in the intifada and said his interrogators had found nothing to incriminate him.
According to a police communique, he was released because his detention was no longer considered necessary for the ongoing investigation of terrorist cells in Jerusalem.
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