Gaza ruler Hamas urged Egypt on Tuesday to pile pressure on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to stop arresting Hamas members in the West Bank by Fatah-dominated security forces loyal to PNA Chairman and President Mahmoud Abbas.
Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, said in a statement that the ongoing arrests in the West Bank against Hamas activists are "a clear evidence that Fatah is not serious in the dialogue."
On November 9, leaders of 13 Palestinian factions, including rival movements of Fatah and Hamas, which has been ruling the GazaStrip since mid June last year, are due to attend a comprehensive dialogue in Cairo.
Cairo has been mediating among Palestinian factions to end the status of political split between Gaza and the West Bank and to broker an agreement of national reconciliation.
"Abbas security apparatuses are continuing their aggression against Hamas members and activists," Barhoum said, adding "Since June 2007, thousands of Hamas members were arrested, 400 of them still in custody."
He said following the deployment of 500 security forces of Abbas in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, around 46 Hamas members were detained, adding that "the arrests reflect the mission of these forces is to crackdown against Hamas."
Rival Fatah also accused Hamas of staging clampdown on Fatah inGaza, saying that Hamas still keeps around 300 Fatah members and leaders in its jails.
Leaders of political factions and social associations called onboth Fatah and Hamas to clean up their prisons and free all those arrested for political reasons.
However, Abbas's security forces denied that there are political motives behind the arrests in the West Bank, saying that those detainees in the West Bank were storing weapons for future fights against the PNA.
Source:Xinhua
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