Hamas Members Arrested In West Bank Crackdown

h_01750945-512x341

Palestinian Authority forces have arrested at least 120 people, including Hamas members, in the West Bank over the past two days, raising tension between the rival movements. At least 20 people were arrested on Saturday, Hamas officials said, a day after about 100 members were detained. Aljazeera has more:

Hamas officials told Al Jazeera that the arrest campaign targeted Hamas members, but also academics, students and former detainees. Journalist Khaldoun Mazloum was among those arrested on Friday. His wife, Ibtihal Mansour, told Al Jazeera that security forces came to their home to take him away shortly after midnight.

“This is not the first time they arrest him. They always present him with charges related to the material he writes for media outlets,” Mansour said. Adnan al-Damiri, the PA security services’ spokesman, said the arrests were not related to political activities but were made for security reasons.

“We will not allow that the West Bank disintegrates into carnage and wars just because Hamas wants escalation,” he told Al Jazeera. Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and is a rival of Fatah, the movement headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.