Fatah en Hamas arresteren nog steeds over en weer elkaars leden, waarbij moeilijk uit te maken is of het om reële wetsovertredingen gaat of om elkaar dwars te zitten. Die vraag heeft ook iets academisch: als Hamas de persvrijheid in Gaza beknot is een krantenredactie al snel in overtreding, en voor Israel en veel Westerse landen die de PA steunen en waarmee ze samenwerkt is Hamas een verboden terroristische organisatie; de PA zou terrorisme bestrijden, en als Hamaslid ben je daaraan al snel op de één of andere manier medeplichtig.
Wouter
________________
Factional arrests dim unity prospects
Date: 24 / 06 / 2009 Time: 14:25
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38778
Date: 24 / 06 / 2009 Time: 14:25
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38778
Nablus - Ma'an - Prospects for unity dimmed further Wednesday as PA forces detained the Hamas-affiliated deputy mayor of Nablus and 40 more party affiliates during raids in the West Bank, while de facto government forces shut down another newspaper in the Gaza Strip and detained its chief editor.
The factional arrests follow the announcement of Hamas members that they would not longer participate in the committee charged by Egypt to sort out conciliation matters including that of politically motivated arrests.
Eyewitnesses in Nablus said several officers with the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s general Palestinian intelligence forces stormed the municipal council offices and detained Deputy Mayor of Nablus Dr Hafith Shahin. Local sources said he was transferred to the Juneid detention center in Nablus, though security officials refused to confirm or deny the story, or comment on the arrest in any way.
Shahin, along with his son, was detained on 28 July 2008 by Palestinian Authority (PA) forces, and was held for two days.
The Hamas movement in the West Bank released a statement Wednesday accusing PA forces of detaining more than 100 members of the movement over the past 24-hours, while simultaneously denying that Hamas security forces detain people for political reasons.
Hamas published 40 names of the movements supporters allegedly detained by the PA security services overnight Tuesday, adding them to a list of 64 released Tuesday afternoon.
The frenzy of arrests came two days after the PA announced it would start releasing jailed Hamas supporters excluding those who represent a threat to public security. On Friday the PA released 20 Hamas members in the West Bank, which Hamas called "meaningless."
De facto government arrests
Tuesday night de facto government forces shut down the offices of the As-Subeh (The Morning) newspaper and detained its Chief Editor Sari Al-Qudweh in an evening raid.
The Palestinian journalists' union condemned the detention in a Wednesday statement saying the home and office of Al-Qudweh were raided, and his papers and computer confiscated before the editor was detained.
The union called on all media and rights institutions to intervene and demand the immediate release of Al-Qudweh.
Journalists should not be the target of political conflicts, the union's statement said, and reminded the governments in the West Bank and Gaza that Al-Qudweh is not the only journalist who has been targeted in recent months.
While calling for the release of Al-Qudweh and the re-opening of As-Subeh in Gaza, the union also called on caretaker government officials in Ramallah to make sure the local newspapers "Palestine" and "Ar-Risala" (The letter) were also permitted to start circulating their publications in the West Bank.
Gaza detainees imprisoned for "criminal reasons"
A delegation from the international Red Cross visited on Wednesday detainees held by the de facto government's Internal Security forces in the Gaza Strip. Following the visit, Hamas declared that all detainees in the Strip were held for criminal charges, and no one was held for political affiliation.
The issue of politically-motivated arrests is a major point of contention between Hamas and Fatah, which dominates the PA in the West Bank. The arrests could threaten talks [about] a Hamas-Fatah unity deal, which are scheduled to resume ahead of a 7 July deadline set by the mediating party, Egypt.
***Updated 15:26 Bethlehem time
The factional arrests follow the announcement of Hamas members that they would not longer participate in the committee charged by Egypt to sort out conciliation matters including that of politically motivated arrests.
Eyewitnesses in Nablus said several officers with the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s general Palestinian intelligence forces stormed the municipal council offices and detained Deputy Mayor of Nablus Dr Hafith Shahin. Local sources said he was transferred to the Juneid detention center in Nablus, though security officials refused to confirm or deny the story, or comment on the arrest in any way.
Shahin, along with his son, was detained on 28 July 2008 by Palestinian Authority (PA) forces, and was held for two days.
The Hamas movement in the West Bank released a statement Wednesday accusing PA forces of detaining more than 100 members of the movement over the past 24-hours, while simultaneously denying that Hamas security forces detain people for political reasons.
Hamas published 40 names of the movements supporters allegedly detained by the PA security services overnight Tuesday, adding them to a list of 64 released Tuesday afternoon.
The frenzy of arrests came two days after the PA announced it would start releasing jailed Hamas supporters excluding those who represent a threat to public security. On Friday the PA released 20 Hamas members in the West Bank, which Hamas called "meaningless."
De facto government arrests
Tuesday night de facto government forces shut down the offices of the As-Subeh (The Morning) newspaper and detained its Chief Editor Sari Al-Qudweh in an evening raid.
The Palestinian journalists' union condemned the detention in a Wednesday statement saying the home and office of Al-Qudweh were raided, and his papers and computer confiscated before the editor was detained.
The union called on all media and rights institutions to intervene and demand the immediate release of Al-Qudweh.
Journalists should not be the target of political conflicts, the union's statement said, and reminded the governments in the West Bank and Gaza that Al-Qudweh is not the only journalist who has been targeted in recent months.
While calling for the release of Al-Qudweh and the re-opening of As-Subeh in Gaza, the union also called on caretaker government officials in Ramallah to make sure the local newspapers "Palestine" and "Ar-Risala" (The letter) were also permitted to start circulating their publications in the West Bank.
Gaza detainees imprisoned for "criminal reasons"
A delegation from the international Red Cross visited on Wednesday detainees held by the de facto government's Internal Security forces in the Gaza Strip. Following the visit, Hamas declared that all detainees in the Strip were held for criminal charges, and no one was held for political affiliation.
The issue of politically-motivated arrests is a major point of contention between Hamas and Fatah, which dominates the PA in the West Bank. The arrests could threaten talks [about] a Hamas-Fatah unity deal, which are scheduled to resume ahead of a 7 July deadline set by the mediating party, Egypt.
***Updated 15:26 Bethlehem time
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten