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 Marzook, 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 Marzook 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 Marzook to Jordan, which the Hamas leader confirmed Thursday from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

Before he can leave the United States, Abu Marzook 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 Marzook 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 Marzook to Jordan.

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

A federal court judge in Manhattan ruled last May that probable cause existed to hold the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas for trial on suspicion that he committed crimes under the penal law of Israel relating to attacks on civilians and bombings.

The complaint filed by Israel that accompanied its extradition request accused Abu Marzook of engaging in conspiracies to commit murder and manslaughter, although Israeli authorities said he did not participate in the attacks.

Abu Marzook’s lawyer, Michael Kennedy, argued that the charges were without merit because the political and military wings of Hamas are separate.