Abducted: Palestinian attorney collecting settlement from Palestinian Development Fund
RAMALLAH — Palestinian Authority officials are suspected of involvement in the abduction of a West Bank attorney.
A Palestinian attorney who won a case against the Palestinian
Development Fund was abducted as she entered Ramallah to collect a check for
her client. The attorney, Amani Abu Arqoub, left her home on Feb. 6 in Dura
in the southern West Bank for Ramallah to collect the settlement from PDF
offices in Ramallah, Middle East Newsline reported.
"At 13:37, three of the lawyer's brothers and sisters received a
telephone message from the kidnappers stating that 'Amani will be away for
seven days,'" the Palestinian Human Rights Center said on Sunday. "'We will
let you speak to her after that.'"
Also In This Edition
Palestinian sources said the 28-year-old attorney was believed to have
been abducted by PA officers who sought to stop her from collecting the
settlement. They said the award was for several thousand dollars.
The award marked a U.S.-sponsored attempt to revive the PA judiciary.
For years, PA courts, plagued by numerous attacks, failed to issue or
enforce judgements in fear of Fatah militias.
The message by Ms. Abu Arqoub's abductors was sent from a mobile phone
on the network of an Israeli cellular phone company. On Feb. 7, the
attorney's younger brother received a text message that she was in good
condition.
"PCHR is concerned over this crime, which is a continuation of the
security chaos plaguing the occupied Palestinian territories," the center
said. "The center calls upon the PA, represented by the attorney-general, to
seriously investigate this crime, and to prosecute the perpetrators."
