Hamas: situation on the ground at odds with PA statements on release of party-affiliated detainees

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Hamas: situation on the ground at odds with PA statements on release of party-affiliated detainees

Nablus / PNN - President Mahmoud Abbas announced he would release all Hamas members being held in Palestinian Authority prisons.

For years of internal strife the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip has arrested members of Fateh with a quid pro quo for Hamas members in the West Bank.

The Palestinian National Initiative, a leftist faction functioning within the government welcomed the announcement by Abbas.

However the Hamas party announced today that the reality on the ground in the West Bank is far from the words of the President. Ahmed Bahar said Tuesday that the speech was for public consumption while the party accused PA security services of holding 847 of its members.

Hamas announced today that Palestinian Authority security services arrested 39 members of Hamas in the West Bank on Sunday and another 32 on Monday. The party added in a statement: “What is happening on the ground in the West Bank is entirely at odds with PA statements on the release of party-affiliated detainees.”

Taking at face value Abbas’ statement that he would release them, the Palestinian National Initiative said today in its notice of appreciation that it hoped the decision would be quickly implemented.

Some families with Hamas members in the PA prisons have reported not seeing their sons for lengthy periods of time and have also accused the jailers of torture.

The PNI said Tuesday it views the decision as a positive step on the ongoing road of national dialogue. “The release of Hamas prisoners will create an environment for national reconciliation.”

The next round of internal talks is planned for early next month in Cairo. The Fateh and Hamas parties are being tasked to create an atmosphere of optimism and reconciliation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in order to end the internal division that has torn apart the Palestinian political scene for three years.

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