The Israeli military brought charges on Tuesday against the speaker of the Palestinian parliament in what could prove to be a test case of how Israel deals with the Hamas-led government. A prosecutor charged Aziz Dweik, a Hamas political leader, with attempting to solicit funds from outside the country and membership of a banned group.
He is one of more than 30 Hamas members, many of them elected, who could face similar charges. Israel regards Hamas, which is dedicated to its destruction, as a terrorist group. Palestinians in the West Bank are tried in military courts because the territory has been under military occupation since 1967 and Israeli civil law does not apply.
The court was convened at Ofer Camp, a detention centre, in the West Bank.
Dweik told reporters he did not recognise the court's jurisdiction. His lawyers called the charges baseless.
"I am elected by the Palestinian people and I represent the head of the Palestinian legitimacy," said Dweik, who was brought into court with his legs shackled, escorted by Israeli soldiers.
The military prosecutor, speaking in Hebrew but with his comments translated into Arabic, told the court he believed the charges against Dweik were serious, and included consorting with Khaled Meshaal, a Hamas leader who lives in exile in Syria.
"(Dweik) dealt with Meshaal and he asked him to pay huge amounts of money," the prosecutor said, in apparent reference to Hamas's need for funds to run the government as a result of international sanctions imposed after it came to power.
Dweik, 58, who took office after Hamas won election in January, was arrested by Israeli soldiers at his home in Ramallah this month.
He is one of at least 32 Hamas cabinet members or deputies detained by Israel since June, when Palestinian militants, including members of Hamas, kidnapped an Israeli soldier in a raid from Gaza, provoking renewed Israeli-Palestinian fighting.
At least four of those detained have already appeared in court.
During Tuesday's hearing, which was adjourned until August 31 after an hour, Dweik's lawyers argued that as an elected official he had immunity from prosecution.
It was expected that many of Hamas lawmakers and ministers would also appear in court, along with Dweik, since all were arrested on the same ground, lawyers said.
Hamas says that Israel's arrest campaign against cabinet ministers and leaders was meant to undermine its rise to power.
"There is an immunity for people who occupy senior posts in the Palestinian Authority and for the speaker of the legislative council," chief defence counsel Osama al-Saadi told the court.
Another lawyer argued that Dweik, who after his arrest was taken to hospital in Jerusalem with breathing problems, needed more access to doctors, a request to which the judge agreed.
Depending on the outcome of the trial, the case against Dweik could be used as a template for other detained members of Hamas. If convictions are secured, the ability of the Hamas-led government to function would be dramatically impaired.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh, a member of Hamas, has held discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah in recent days over the possibility of forming a unity government which might allow it to escape the current sanctions.