Haniyeh visits escaped prisoner

08/02/2011

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday visited a Hamas militant who returned to the Gaza Strip after escaping an Egyptian jail.

Haniyeh congratulated Noufel on his release, and said he prayed to God to protect all resistance fighters.

Ayman Noufel, a leader in Hamas' armed wing the Al-Qassam Brigades, returned to the Al-Buriej refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday.

He was one of several Palestinian prisoners who joined thousands of detainees in a mass jail break, as an anti-government uprising created security chaos across Egypt.

"I broke the door of my cell down with the bed frame and the Egyptian prisoners helped us break open the cell's door. As we ran toward the main gate of the prison some guards shot at us, while neighbors living near the prison broke the gate and set fire to it," he recalled of the escape.

Noufel thanked all those who arrived to his home in Gaza to congratulate him on his return. He also expressed gratitude to the media for their solidarity and to all the Palestinians who took part in rallies demanding his release.

He was detained three years ago in El-Arish, when thousands of Palestinians broke out of Gaza by tearing down a section of the wall on Egypt's border.

He said he was never told the reason for his detention, but that Egyptian police interrogated him about Hamas and its military capabilities.

The Qassam commander said he suspected he was being used as a hostage to blackmail the Islamist movement.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=357829.