Last update - 00:00 04/01/2008
PA forces loyal to Abbas detain two Hamas leaders in Ramallah
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Staff, and Reuters
RAMALLAH - A Palestinian security force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas detained two Hamas leaders for seven hours on Saturday after one of them said publicly the Palestinian Authority was behaving like Israel.
Faraj Rummana told Reuters that he and Hussein Abu Kwaik were held in separate cells and questioned by the Preventive Security Service (PSS) in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where Abbas's Fatah faction holds sway.
A Palestinian security official confirmed the two men had been summoned to PSS headquarters.
Earlier in the day, Abu Kwaik said on Al-Jazeera television that Palestinian forces in the Ramallah area had arrested dozens of Hamas activists recently and were acting like Israeli occupation forces.
Both Rummana and Abu Kwaik are prominent West Bank leaders of Hamas.
In the television interview, Abu Kwaik called on Abbas to dismiss the West Bank-based government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in order to stop the arrests of Hamas supporters.
Rummana said he and Abu Dweik were held for seven hours and questioned about the comments made to Al-Jazeera.
A security official told the two men before they were released to ensure that Hamas "did not make trouble" during U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to the West Bank and Israel next week, Rummana said.
Fatah has said many of its supporters have been questioned or jailed in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took over the territory. Hamas has denied the arrests are politically motivated and said jailed Fatah activists had broken the law.
Abbas to meet with Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh
Abbas traveled to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to meet with King Abdullah on the possibility of renewing talks between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.
Riyadh has been actively urging Abbas to renew contacts with the
radical Islamist organization that took over the Gaza Strip following a brief battlewith Fatah in June.
For his part, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshal called on
Abbas to renew the dialogue with his group without preconditions.
"We are ready for dialogue without conditions," Meshal said. "Our hand
is extended out and all the issues in dispute can be put on the
table," he added.
But Meshal also demanded that Fayyad's government resign and called on
the Palestinians to undermine its efforts to govern. He said its
behavior is detrimental to the interests of the Palestinian people.
PA forces uncover Hamas explosives lab in Nablus
Palestinian security forces uncovered a Hamas bomb-making laboratory in Nablus a week ago, where 33 kilograms of mercury and other materials used to make bombs were found, Palestinian sources said Thursday.
The bombs were to be used against Israel but also against Palestinian Authority targets, the sources said.
The hazardous materials were found in a building Palestinian intelligence believed was serving as a Hamas arms cache. Mercury is often used to complete the electrical circuit in bombs - basically an "on" switch for detonation.
In recent weeks the Palestinian security forces carried out a broad security operation in Nablus against Hamas networks. Several dozen Hamas activists were arrested, and most were released after they agreed to turn in their weapons and avoid any activities against Israel or the PA.
The governor of Nablus, Jamal Muhaisen, said the PA has confiscated 120 weapons held by Hamas, mostly M-16s but also sniper rifles, Uzi submachine guns and others.
The head of General Intelligence in the city, Abdullah Kamil, told Haaretz that during the operation his soldiers uncovered "extremely dangerous material." But he declined to give details.
Kamil maintains that the PA security forces destroyed the Hamas network in Nablus, saying that they uncovered sleeper groups affiliated with that radical Islamic organization Kamil believes is preparing to overthrow the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
He also said the PA security services in recent months have foiled dozens of planned attacks against Israeli targets that were initiated in the Hamas network in Nablus.
Muhaisen said the PA has managed to strike a blow at Hamas' financial network and has taken over the group's welfare organizations, a common conduit for transferring funds.
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