Court Extends Remand of Gazan Engineer Held in Israeli Prison

According to the foreign media, Dirar Abu Sisi, formerly a high-ranking engineer in Gaza, was arrested in the Ukraine by Israeli security forces.

The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court decided Thursday to extend the remand of Gazan engineer Dirar Abu Sisi by seven days upon the request of the General Security Service and the Israel Police.

Abu Sisi, who was arrested in the Ukraine according to the foreign media, has been held in an Israeli prison for 34 days.

Reuters

The extension of Abu Sisi's remand wad made possible after Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein granted the security service special permission to issue the request. Weinstein's permission is necessary in any case of a request to extend the remand beyond 30 days.

At the request of the Shin Bet security service and the State Prosecutor's Office, a comprehensive gag order was issued at the time of Abu Sisi's arrest, around a month ago. About 10 days ago the order was modified to permit the publication in Israel of details already reported in the foreign media.

Abu Sisi was brought into the courtroom on Thursday through a side door in order to prevent reporters from photographing him. He was accompanied by a police investigator from the Lachish area police, which is in charge of his investigation. During the court discussion, Abu Sisi told his attorney, Smadar Ben-Natan, that he is exhausted from the continued investigations.

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein apparently asked the Shin Ben to complete Abu Sisi's investigation, which may indicate that Weinstein is not satisfied by the current investigation and the gap between the suspicions against Abu Sisi and the evidence the police holds against him.

According to foreign reports, Abu Sisi, formerly a high-ranking engineer at Gaza's electric company and power station, was abducted by Israeli security forces after boarding a train in the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv heading for Kiev, where he planned to meet a brother who has been living in Amsterdam for several years.

Abu Sisi's wife, a Ukrainian citizen who is currently in that country, was summoned to the Ukrainian security services in order to give them details regarding her husband's disappearance. The Ukrainian security services have thus far refused to respond to her demands that they listen to her version of Abu Sisi's arrest.