JERUSALEM, July 8 (JMCC) - Israeli police released Palestinian parliamentarian Azzam Ahmed after holding him for approximately an hour Wednesday.

Ahmed was visiting three of four Palestinian politicians who have been ordered to leave Jerusalem by Israeli officials because of their political activities. The three members of Hamas have established a sit-in tent in front of the International Committee for the Red Cross in Jerusalem, while a fourth is in Israeli detention.

Witnesses said that head of the parliamentary bloc of Fateh in the Palestinian Legislative Council was ordered to disembark from his vehicle before being taken to the Muscobiya detention center in Jerusalem for further investigation.

Hatem Abdel Qader, a Fateh representative in Jerusalem, called the arrest provocative, brutal, and unjustified. A committee that has been established to fight the deportations of the four Hamas members from Jerusalem condemned the arrest, saying it was a provocation.

In the Gaza Strip, Hamas parliamentarian Ahmed Baher also criticized the detention and said it was evidence that Israeli authorities do not distinguish between Fateh and Hamas when interfering with the workings of the Palestinian parliament.

The occupation does not distinguish between Palestinian citizens, he said in a statement.

Ahmed carries a West Bank identity card.