CAIRO / RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group accused rival Hamas of arresting dozens of Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip yesterday. The recriminations threaten to derail Egyptian-mediated efforts to reconcile the two Palestinian groups. A Hamas spokesman said there had been no arrests and accused Fatah of distortion aimed at undermining the talks.
Arrests and counter arrests by forces loyal to the two groups have hampered efforts to restore political unity and boost prospects for a resumption of peace-making with Israel.
Fatah lawmaker Ashraf Gomaa said in Gaza that at least 90 of those arrested yesterday had been identified, but that the Hamas sweeps were continuing.
“We urge the Egyptian leadership to take a stronger position towards these actions by Hamas, which create doubt among our people over the importance of, and the need for, these continued talks in Cairo,” Gomaa said.
The Palestinian Authority said yesterday it dismantled a Hamas cell that was planning attacks against Palestinian leaders and public buildings in the West Bank.
PA Secretary-General Tayeb Abdelrahim claimed the plotters hoped to torpedo reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas.
He said that Palestinian security forces had arrested about 10 Hamas operatives in the West Bank in the past several days on suspicion of planning attacks.
“We are now convinced that (Hamas) is not ready to reach an agreement in Cairo,” Abdel-Rahim said.
“These Fatah positions have only one aim, which is Fatah’s desire to foil the dialogue,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
Gomaa’s remarks came hours before a spokesman for Fatah’s security forces in the West Bank, where Fatah holds sway, announced that 100 Hamas members “who do not pose a threat to general security and the rule of law” would be released by today.
Adnan Al-Damiri, the spokesman of the Palestinian security forces, said the release of the Hamas supporters would be completed by today according to Abbas’ orders.
On the other hand, Hamas freed 20 Fatah activists on Sunday in the Gaza Strip after saying that initial interrogation found them not guilty.
Sources close to the reconciliation talks in Cairo said the latest round on Sunday had stalled due to disagreements over a mechanism to end factional arrests. Both groups deny the arrests are politically motivated.
Hamas and Fatah delegations held talks yesterday with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who has led Egypt’s efforts to heal the rift between both parties for nearly a year.
Egypt has set a July 7 deadline for signing a compromise deal, a source said.
“Egypt made clear to the two factions there could be no more talks in Cairo beyond July if they continued to fail to reach an agreement,” the official, who asked not to be named, said.
Meanwhile, an opinion poll yesterday showed discontent with Fatah over slow-moving Palestinian unity talks and Israel’s ban on Gaza reconstruction aid have led to a sharp decline in Hamas’ popularity.
The survey by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) put public support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at 18.8 percent compared with 27.7 percent in its previous poll in January.
Abbas’s Fatah faction is now more popular than Hamas with a 34.9 percent rating, up from 26 percent in January, according to the poll of 1,199 people. - With input from agencies
