Israel has arrested a Palestinian American in the West Bank village of Ramallah for engaging in hostile anti-Israeli activities.
Reports said the man, the fourth American of Palestinian origin recently arrested by Israel, was suspected of involvement with militant Islamic fundamentalist groups, the same accusation made of the three other U.S. citizens detained.
The man was identified as Anwar Hamdan, 33, from an undisclosed locality in Pennsylvania.
Hamdan, arrested Feb. 28, was expected to face formal charges in military court in a few days. Until that time, no further information about his arrest will be disclosed, said Oded Ben-Ami, Defense Ministry spokesman.
According to his lawyer, Hamdan arrived in Israel in January with his wife to visit relatives.
In Washington, the State Department said it had been informed of the arrest March 1 and that U.S. consular officials in Israel had visited Hamdan on March 4. Spokesman Richard Boucher would not comment further on the case, citing Hamdan’s right to privacy.
Two other Palestinian Americans arrested in January are being held by Israel for organizing on behalf of the fundamentalist Hamas movement.
Mohammed Salah and Mohammed Jarad, both from Chicago, have been accused of distributing money to Hamas cells to help rebuild the organization following December’s deportation to Lebanon of more than 400 men said to be Hamas leaders.
A third American detained in January was released by a military court.
Ben-Ami declined to comment on whether there was any connection between Salah and Jarad and the latest arrest.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
