Israel Drops Extradition Request for Hamas Chief

Fearing the possibility of escalating terrorism, the government of Israel on Thursday withdrew its request to extradite Mousa abu Marzuk, political leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas who has been held in prison in Manhattan since July 1995.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno in Washington said the decision by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was aimed at getting the Mideast peace process “back on track” and to “foster an atmosphere in which the renewal of Palestinian efforts against terrorism can be obtained.”

In January, Abu Marzuk withdrew his opposition to extradition and announced that he was prepared to travel to Israel to “suffer martyrdom.” His legal move put pressure on the Netanyahu government, setting the stage for what could have been an explosive trial in Israel on charges that the Hamas political leader financed and planned terrorism.

“The decision was taken on the basis of overall considerations concerning security and the prevention of terrorist attacks,” said Netanyahu’s spokesman, Shai Bazak.

Israeli Radio said that moves are underway to send Abu Marzuk to Jordan, which the Hamas leader confirmed Thursday from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

Before he can leave the United States, Abu Marzuk still faces court proceedings started by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which originally blocked his entry into the United States from the Mideast at Kennedy International Airport.

An INS spokesman said the agency’s case to exclude Abu Marzuk from the United States, where he has lived since 1982, will be resumed. He was taken into custody at the airport on suspicion that he was involved in terrorist acts.

State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the Hamas leader will remain in the U.S. “pending a review of all available options” by the INS. Burns declined comment on the possibility of sending Abu Marzuk to Jordan.

Jordan’s prime minister, Abdul Salam Majali, told Reuters Television in Washington that his nation would be favorably disposed to taking Marzuk “if he wants, and the U.S. would like him to go.”

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In some 1997 stories, and stories from 2001 onward, Mousa abu Marzuk is referred to as Mousa abu Marzook.

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