Abbas orders release of Hamas woman from PA jail

Tamam Abu Saud, a member of a cell that allegedly planned to kill the PA governor of Nablus, was released after she asked for forgiveness.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Abbas 311 AP (photo credit: AP)
Abbas 311 AP
(photo credit: AP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday ordered the release of a Hamas woman who had been arrested by the PA security forces in the West Bank on suspicion of planning attacks on senior Palestinian officials.
Earlier this month, Abbas ordered the release of six Hamas men who were being held in a PA prison in Hebron. The decision to release the men came after they went on hunger strike.
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The woman, Tamam Abu Saud, was part of a Hamas cell that allegedly planned to assassinate the PA governor of Nablus and attack various Fatah-affiliated institutions in the West Bank.
PA security sources said that Abbas decided to release Abu Saud after she appealed to him and asked for forgiveness.
The sources claimed that Abbas accepted her appeal although she had previously confessed to the charges against her.
“The release of the woman is a humanitarian gesture by President Mahmoud Abbas, who is the caring and passionate father of all Palestinians, including those who commit mistakes,” the sources said.
According to the PA security sources, the decision to release Abu Saud also came after she herself had realized that she had been exploited by Hamas to advance its own purposes.
The sources warned Hamas against using women and children to carry out the movement’s agenda.
Abu Saud was arrested two months ago together with a number of Hamas activists. Last month a PA court ordered her release, but the Palestinian security forces refused to comply. Two of her sons had also been arrested by the PA security forces for being affiliated with Hamas.