Hamas accuses Israel of torturing Palestinian MP

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian group Hamas on Wednesday accused Israel of torturing a detained group lawmaker in prison.

MP Abdel Nasser Abdel-Jawad, 50, had been held in al-Jalameh detention center in the northern West Bank for the past 50 days without charges, Hamas' Change and Reform parliamentary bloc said in a statement.

"He has been subjected to severe torture," the bloc added.

An Israeli military court has extended Abdel-Jawad's detention several times "without allowing him to meet his lawyer", the statement said.

According to the Hamas' parliamentary bloc, the detained lawmaker told the Israeli judge that he had been "subjected to severe torture, pressure and threats since his arrest".

Some 450 of these are under what Israel calls "administrative detention" where they face neither trial or charge. Twelve members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which serves as the Palestinian parliament, also remain in Israeli custody.