Last update - 00:00 31/07/2007
Hamas provides limited proof for sweeping allegation against PA gov't
By The Associated Press
Documents presented by Hamas Tuesday failed to prove the Islamic movement's allegations that the Palestinian Authority spied for Western governments and collected sexual photos of Palestinian leaders to be used for blackmail.
Instead, the documents - seized following Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in mid-June - indicated no more than minor financial improprieties. But Hamas promised more at a later date.
"Today is light weapons against corruption," said Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas leader and former Palestinian foreign minister. "But the heavy arsenal will be used soon."
Hamas overran Gaza last month in a violent five-day battle against rival Fatah forces. In response, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah dismissed the Hamas-led unity government and installed one with moderates and Fatah backers, gaining world support and leaving Hamas isolated in Gaza.
Among the documents shown to reporters during a news conference in Gaza City Tuesday were a note to Yasser Arafat warning of a plot to strip the late Palestinian leader of power, as well as papers from Arafat authorizing payments to politicians and private citizens. Neither revelation is considered groundbreaking.
Zahar said Hamas had intercepted a large number of documents, which would be read, filed and eventually brought before Hamas' yet-to-be constructed judicial system.
Some documents would be presented to the media, he said, but those bearing individuals' names or dealing with the moral side of people's lives would not be made public.
Fatah's West Bank spokesman Fahmi al-Zaarer did not deny corruption in the Palestinian government, but doubted the legitimacy of the documents.
"Anyone with a scanner and photocopier can do whatever they want," he said.
Also Tuesday, Hamas gunmen stormed a hospital affiliated with Fatah in Gaza, the hospital's director said.
The hospital is the latest in a series of Fatah institutions to be taken over by Hamas.
Suleiman Jubala, director of the Fatah Medical Center for Rehabilitation, said gunmen ordered him at gunpoint to leave the building and hand over medical documents. "They have officially taken over the hospital," Jubala said.
The hospital was founded by the wife of Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan, a bitter enemy of Hamas.