Israel on Tuesday released Aziz Dweik, Hamas member and former speaker of the Palestinian parliament, who was kidnapped for nearly three years for ties with Hamas, his lawyer said.
Dweik was released after Israeli prosecutors failed to convince a military court last week to extend his prison term, which was due to end in August. Dweik, aged 60, was abducted alongside dozens of other Hamas politicians in the West Bank in 2006 following an attack by Hamas fighters and the capture of an Israeli soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, on the Gaza Strip border with Israel.
While in prison, Dweik was transported several times to a hospital in Israel due to his high blood pressure and diabetes.
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