Israel Matzav

IDF holding al-Jazeera Afghanistan bureau chief?

Al-Jazeera claims that the IDF is holding Samer Alawi, the chief of its Afghanistan bureau, claiming that he is a member of Hamas. According to al-Jazeera, Alawi testified before a military court on Monday, and was remanded for another seven days.

According to Al Jazeera, Allawi was arrested at the Allenby crossing on the border with Jordan Tuesday after a vacation in his hometown Sabastia near Nablus, having crossed into the West Bank three weeks prior without encountering any difficulties.

Al Jazeera TV showed footage of Allawi explaining to his lawyer, Salim Waqeem, in front of Israeli security officials that his work was not in Israel, nor the surrounding territories, but rather in "southern Asia."

His Facebook page contains mostly images of Allawi meeting businessmen from Kabul, as well as various sites and buildings in Afghanistan.

IDF officials told the Allawi family Tuesday that their son was going to be held for a period of four days, but did not say why Allawi was being held, calling it a "security arrest," Al Jazeera said.

According to the report, Allawi holds a Jordanian passport, and had not visited his hometown for more than 25 years.

If the IDF is holding Alawai, I suspect it's for a lot more than being a member of Hamas. It makes no sense to me that the IDF would arrest such a high-profile figure, word of whose arrest would undoubtedly be carried around the world, on a 'membership in a terror organization' charge.

What seems more likely to me is that while he was in Samaria, Alawi attempted to lay the groundwork between al-Qaeda and/or the Taliban and Hamas. I have no inside information on this and I would not be allowed to discuss it if I did. But that's what I suspect has happened.

Labels: Afghanistan, al-Jazeera, al-Qaeda, Hamas, Samir Alawi, Taliban

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:37 PM