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Monday, April 26, 2010

Israel lets Hamas man's child into Jordan

Fathi Hamad's daughter transferred to Amman hospital as per King Abdullah's request

Hanan Greenberg
Published: 04.25.10, 08:25 / Israel News

The three-year-old daughter of Fathi Hamad, a senior Hamas member serving as the Gaza government's interior minister, was transferred to Jordan from a hospital in the Strip over the weekend as part of a humanitarian gesture.

Fathi Hamad (Arabic: فتحي حماد‎) is a political leader of Hamas. Hamad became a Hamas affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006, representing his home town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. He also leads the Hamas Public Affairs Department and is the director of Al Aqsa TV channel.

On 18 November 2009, Waad, a group headed by Hamad, offered a $1.4 million bounty to anybody who captures an Israeli soldier. The group also called on people living in Israel to try to take soldiers hostage.

Israeli security officials approved the transfer after following a request made by Jordan's King Abdullah, as the girl was in serious danger.

Hamad's daughter and her mother left the Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing. The girl received initial medical care in the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon and was then flown to a hospital in Amman on a Jordanian helicopter.

A defense establishment official explained that despite the unusual request and the fact that the girl's father is a Hamas man, Israel decided to approve the humanitarian move in order to save the girl's life.

The source added that it would have been wrong to turn down the request, despite the fact that Hamad is a senior Hamas member involved in the negotiations aimed at securing the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.