IDF arrests Turkish man for ‘endangering W. Bank security’

Suspect is an active member of a pro-Palestinian, Islamic-oriented human rights organization.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
idf arrest311 (photo credit: ap)
idf arrest311
(photo credit: ap)
A Turkish national was arrested by security forces on April 27 in the West Bank on suspicion of carrying out security offenses, it was revealed on Monday following the lifting of a media ban.
Izzet Sahin was taken into custody by IDF forces as he traveled from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, and was then taken for questioning by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel Police’s Serious and International Crimes Unit.
A security source told The Jerusalem Post that Sahin was a member of the Turkish Islamist organization IHH, which was outlawed in 2008. The source added that the suspect had spent a prolonged period in the West Bank, during which “he endangered the security of the area.”
Sahin’s remand has been extended until May 13, the source said, addingthat no further details could be given at this time since theinvestigation was still ongoing.
The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center described the IHH as“a pro-Palestinian Islamic-oriented human rights organization,” addingthat its full name was Insani Yardim Vakfi.
The IHH has been responsible for organizing land and naval convoys toGaza in the past. But Sahin’s arrest was not linked to such activity,the security source said.
In a press statement on its Web site, the IHH said, “Izzet Sahin, whohas been living in West Bank since the 28th of November, 2009, [is] astudent of [the] Hebrew University, [and] was taken into custody in anillegal manner on the 27th of April, 2010. First court hearing of IzzetSahin was held last week... Officials from IHH demand [that the]Turkish government interfere to ensure Sahin’s release.”
The IHH said on its Web site that its mission was to provide “all needyand wronged people with a dignified life through extending humanitarianaid... to spread justice and good, and to fight evil on the Earth.”