JERUSALEM, Wednesday, April 8, 2020 (WAFA) – Diplomats from several European countries based in Jerusalem yesterday talked via video conference with the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Hidmi following his arrest for several hours by Israeli police, according to a tweet by the diplomats.

Hidmi was briefly detained by police on Friday for his efforts to help Palestinians in the occupied part of Jerusalem fight the coronavirus outbreak. He was assaulted and treated badly during the arrest while forced to wear a contaminated face mask. His house on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem was also ransacked.

Representatives of Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the European Union held a video talk with Hidmi, said the tweet by the UK Consulate General in Jerusalem.

“They expressed concern at the 3 April raid by Israeli police on his home, his detention and questioning about his work to prevent the spread of Covid19 in East Jerusalem,” it said.

Israeli police have been pursuing and arresting Palestinian activists and senior PA officials in the occupied city who try to look after the city’s 350,000 Arab population neglected by Israel in the efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

M.K.