An Israeli military court in the West Bank extended on Monday the detention of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Speaker Aziz Dweik, his attorney said.

Dweik, who has been in Israeli jail since the summer of 2006, is supposed to end his 34-month sentence by mid-June. However, the court refused his release and decided to keep him in jail for another month.

Fadi el-Qawasmeh, Dweik's lawyer told reporters that "according to the Israeli military court decision, Dweik will apparently remain in custody regardless of his release date that is supposed to be on June 15."

El-Qawasmeh expected that the Israeli military court of Ofer in the West Bank "would need at least one month in order to issue a new decision whether to keep him in jail or release him."

Meanwhile, PLC lawmakers, members of Islamic Hamas movement condemned in a statement the Israeli court's decision to keep Dweik in jail.

"Keeping Dweik and more than 30 Hamas lawmakers in prison is completely an Israeli political decision and has no legal back ground. It is a clear violation of the international law," said the statement.

Dweik and 38 Hamas lawmakers in the West Bank were arrested in early August of 2006, in response to Hamas kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Gaza in July 2006.

Hamas and two other groups, captors of Shalit, are demanding Israel to free 1,450 Palestinian prisoners, including Dweik and the other Hamas lawmakers. Talks on a prisoners' swap deal with Israel is expected to resume soon.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2009)