RAMALLAH, 14 October 2007 — Palestinian security forces affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday raided five mosques in several West Bank cities and confiscated printed material belonging to rival Hamas movement.
According to local sources, the raids took place in the cities of Hebron, Nablus and Salfit. The security forces confiscated leaflets and banners that carried Hamas greetings for the Palestinian people on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr.
In addition, the forces removed some decorations and lights put on the mosque to celebrate the Eid festivals, eyewitnesses reported. The sources said that the Palestinian forces entered the mosques with their guns and shoes on during the raid of the mosques, a step viewed by the sources as against the rules of Islam religion.
Fatah and the Palestinian Authority continuously accuse Hamas of using the mosques for political purposes and to recruit Palestinians to join the movement and its armed wing.
In the past few months, a serious dispute erupted between the two major groups, when Hamas banned mass outdoor prayers, called for by Fatah. Meanwhile, a number of Hamas members handed their weapons over to the Palestinian Authority security forces in different areas in the West Bank, said a Palestinian Security source yesterday.
