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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| PA releases 13 more Hamas detainees in Qalqiliya |
| 2009-08-26 |
| Ma'an -- The Palestinian General Intelligence Service has released 13 Hamas members from prison in the West Bank city of Qalqiliya over the last three days, a security source told Ma'an. The source said the release came in accordance with President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to release 200 Hamas detainees from Palestinian Authority custody in the West Bank. The Preventive Security Service in Qalqilia released 12 detainees on Sunday while the Military Intelligence Service released five on Monday bringing the overall number of detainees released in Qalqiliya to 30. In a statement released on Hamas-linked websites on Monday, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said it was too early to judge Abbas' order. The Gaza-based spokesperson also said that implementation of the decision is critical, and called for the release of all political prisoners by the PA. Hamas is relatively strong in Qalqiliya, where nine people were killed in two deadly shootouts between Hamas and PA gunmen one week in last May and June. The detention of Hamas members by the Fatah-run PA's security forces has been considered a major sticking point in resolving a two-year divide in Palestinian politics and society that began in 2007. The PA claims that the Hamas members in its prisons were detained for "security reasons," not political motivations. Last week the Hamas government in Gaza ordered the release of 50 Fatah members and 50 criminals in a similar gesture. A high-ranking Egyptian general, Muhammad Ibrahim, met with Hamas and Fatah leaders in the West Bank, Jordan, and Syria last week in an attempt to address the political prisoner issue. A round of Egyptian-brokered Hamas-Fatah negotiations scheduled for this week was postponed with no future date set. |
| Posted by:Fred |