The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says one of its officials who has been in Saudi detention for more than five months has been transferred to the hospital because of health complications. RNA - Mohammad Nazal, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, said in a tweet early on Tuesday that Muhammad al-Khudari had been transferred by the Saudi authorities from Dhahban Prison in Jeddah to a hospital in Mecca to receive treatment for an unspecified terminal disease.
Last week, Hamas revealed that Saudi authorities had arrested tens of Palestinians, including Khudari, who has been living in Saudi Arabia for over 30 years.
The 81-year-old official represented Hamas in Saudi Arabia between the mid-1990s and 2003. He has held other important positions in the Palestinian resistance movement as well.
Hamas also urged Saudi authorities to release Khudari — who has been held without charge — as well as his son, who has also been detained.
Back on June 3, Lebanese al-Akhbar cited anonymous sources as saying that Saudi officials had been holding dozens of Saudi nationals and Palestinian expatriates in detention for months over affiliation with Hamas. The report said the most prominent figure among those arrested was Khudari.
Al-Akhbar said the Saudi campaign of arrests was coupled with the closure of bank accounts, and a ban on the sending of money from Saudi Arabia to the Gaza Strip.
Saudi Arabia’s repressive measures against the Palestinian resistance movement as well as those seeking to collect donations for people living in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip come as the kingdom and Israel are believed to be planning to publicize their secret ties.
Gaza has been blockaded by the Israeli regime since 2007.
Over the past two years, Saudi authorities have deported more than 100 Palestinians from the kingdom, mostly on charges of supporting Hamas financially, politically, or through social networking sites.