RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- An Israeli military court at the Ofer detention center heard a plea on behalf of Hamas lawmaker Mahmoud Ar-Ramahi for a reduction in his sentence, set originally for a six month term.

Lawyer Jawad Bullos said the jailed member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, elected in 2006, was sentenced to six months detention two weeks earlier, when the court said the official's activities went beyond political duties and threatened security in the area.

Detained shortly before 3 a.m. from his home in Ramallah on 10 November, Israeli officials made no comment at the time as to the nature of the charges against him. On 16 November he was given six months of administrative detention to serve, a sentence that comes without the necessity of appearing before a judge and can be extended indefinitely.

At court, Bulos said the Israeli military prosecutor accused Ar-Rumhi of being a militant Hamas leader, an accusation refuted by Bulos, who said the nature of the official's job included attending popular political activities like demonstrations against Israel's separation wall, which he attended in March in the West Bank village of Bil'in.

Ar-Ramahi was detained in the summer of 2006 during an Israeli sweep that saw some 19 elected officials rounded up from their homes in the government headquarters city of Ramallah and other areas of the West Bank. The officials was released a year and seven months later and was never charged.