Saudi authorities released a senior official of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas after over three years in detention, Reuters news agency reported.

Ezzat el-Reshiq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement that Mohammad al-Khudary, who was detained by Saudi authorities in 2019, was on board a plane heading to Jordan.

In August 2021, al-Khudary was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Saudi criminal court.

It followed a mass trial against 69 Palestinian and Jordanian detainees accused of providing financial support to Hamas.

“We highly appreciate the decision by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” el-Reshiq said, adding:

“We pray that the step is an introduction to opening a new chapter and seeing the release of the remaining prisoners.”

(The New Arab, PC, SOCIAL)