Police warn Hamas's Abu-Tir against J'lem activity

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
Jerusalem police on Sunday summoned a senior Hamas parliamentarian from east Jerusalem to warn him against carrying out any political activity in the city, police said. The newly-elected Hamas lawmaker, Sheikh Mohammed Abu-Tir, serves as the head of the movement's list in Jerusalem and is the number-two man on the national Hamas party list. He was previously detained in the city two weeks ago for illegally campaigning in Jerusalem. Abu-Tir, a Jerusalem resident who carries an Israeli ID card, was cautioned by police during his hour-long police summons Sunday not to engage in any political activity whatsoever in the city, and agreed to abide by the demand, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said. Israel had forbidden Palestinian terror organizations, such as Hamas, from campaigning in east Jerusalem, but, despite a series of arrests and police raids over the last month, the powerful Islamic group defied the ban through the very end of the voting, and then ended up winning the east Jerusalem vote hands down, sweeping all four seats up for election in the city.