Hamas official Mustafa Abu Arra called for Palestinian Authority (PA) to end political arrests against Hamas members, stressing that such detentions are “free services for the Israeli occupation.”

In a press release, Abu Arra said that political arrests “do not go in line with the national unity, which is need to face off the Israeli occupation and its continuous crimes.”

Abu Arra urged the PA to immediately backtrack on this policy, which has targeted Hamas official Adnan al-Housari, who was previously detained in Israeli prisons.

He described al-Hoursari’s arrest by the PA security forces as “shameful.”

Al-Hoursari, a 55-year-old resident of the West Bank city of Tulkarm, had been previously incarcerated for more than 12 years in Israeli prisons, mostly under administrative detention, and was released about two months ago after being held for 15 months in administrative detention.

During his detention in Israeli jails, al-Hoursari had gone on a hunger strike for 62 days in a row to protest his administrative detention without charge or trial.

The PA security forces have targeted al-Hoursari and his family and arrested him several times, during which he was subjected to torture and threats.