Skip to main content

Israel re-arrests Palestinian parliament speaker Aziz Dweik

Palestinian parliament speaker Aziz Dweik detained by Israel, one week after release
MENA
2 min read
20 June, 2024
Aziz Dweik, 77, was re-arrested less than a week after photos of him looking frail following his release circulated online.
Aziz Dweik is one of the most senior Palestinian politicians in the occupied West Bank [Getty]

Israeli forces have re-arrested the elderly Palestinian parliament speaker Aziz Dweik less than a week after his release in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

Local Palestinian media reported that Dweik was arrested late on Wednesday with footage showing Israeli soldiers taking him from his home and into a military vehicle.

Dweik was released on 13 June after originally being arbitrarily detained in October.

He was held in military detention in the Negev desert for six months, which was later extended by Israeli authorities.

Activists and social media users raised the alarm about his condition after appearing significantly thinner on his release than before his detention in October.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club accused the Israeli authorities last week of medical neglect, stating Dweik had not received appropriate treatment while in detention and was not able to have his family visit him.

In December, Dweik suffered from both anaemia and haemoglobin deficiency as a result of his diabetes.

The prisoners' club has also highlighted that he had previously undergone two catheterisation operations and fragmentation of kidney stones which has impacted his condition further. 

Earlier this month, Israeli forces released Bassem Tamimi, a Palestinian activist, who looked frail and thin after his time in detention.

Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 7 October, with many held in administrative detention.