Interior minister bars Hamas operative from leaving Israel

Aryeh Deri says allowing Oweis Hamada to travel abroad could 'damage national security and increase the risk of terrorist activity in Israel'

By ToI Staff 4 February 2019, 5:57 pm
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri leads a faction meeting of his Shas party at the Knesset on December 31, 2018. (Noam Revkin Fenton/ Flash90)

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri signed an order on Monday barring a senior member of the Hamas terror group from leaving Israel for at least a month.

A statement from Deri’s office said that Oweis Hamada is a “key Hamas activist… who maintains regular contact with terrorist operatives abroad.”

The order was signed after Deri became “convinced that Hamada’s departure from the country is liable to damage national security and increase the risk of terrorist activity in Israel.”

Deri’s order will expire in a month, at which time the minister can either extend it or let it lapse.

The Interior Ministry has previously issued similar orders prohibiting Hamada from traveling outside of Israel.

According to the Hamas website, Hamada is a resident of the Sur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem. He was imprisoned by Israel in 2002 for his activities in the terrorist group, and released in 2012.

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