Israeli police have detained Sabah Avad al-Salam Haniyeh, the sister of former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, on suspicion of connections with operatives from the Hamas terror group and for allegedly supporting acts of terrorism.
The arrest took place during a joint operation between Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency, code-named “Early Dawn.” The 57-year-old woman was apprehended in the southern town of Tel Sheva.
Although Israeli authorities did not officially identify the suspect, they confirmed she is a relative of a senior Hamas member. During the raid on her residence, police discovered documents, media, telephones, and other evidence linking her to “serious security offenses.”
Sabah Avad al-Salam Haniyeh is scheduled to appear in the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court for a hearing on her detention later today.
Ismail Haniyeh, currently residing in exile in Doha, Qatar, has three sisters living in Tel Sheva, who were married to Arab Israelis. Two of them, now widowed, have previously faced legal issues with Israeli authorities for unauthorized trips into Gaza in 2013 via Egypt. They received eight-month suspended sentences in 2015 for these visits. In 2015, Israel also denied Ismail Haniyeh’s request for his sisters to attend his son’s wedding in Gaza.
