Fatah military leaders are warning to strike back at Hamas operatives in the West Bank if Hamas continues to arrest their comrades in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas movement in Gaza has so far arrested more than 160 Fatah members since Friday evening, when a mysterious explosion claimed the lives of five Hamas operatives and a bystander.
Hamas immediately blamed Fatah for the assassination. Its leaders said that following the explosion, the Fatah-controlled TV station in Ramallah broadcast scenes from Gaza with songs hailing Fatah’s revolutionaries. This, they said, was clear proof that Fatah was behind the attack.
Hamas’ ousted Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyya ordered his Interior Ministry to investigate the incident and find the perpetrators as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Fatah has denied any involvement in the attack.
"Each time an internal explosion occurred in the past, claiming many lives, Hamas used to blame Israel," MP Jamal Abu A-Rubb, a member of Fatah, told The Media Line.
"However, Hamas today is unable to blame Israel, as it fears this might infringe the calm agreement between Israel and Hamas. So what’s left is to blame Fatah. We don’t believe in internal fighting, as it only benefits the Israeli occupation," added A-Rubb.
Meanwhile, Hamas TV has announced that dozens of Hamas members were arrested in the West Bank by the Fatah-controlled security organizations. The movement called on its operatives in the West Bank not to surrender and to put up a fight against the security organizations if needed.
Fatah, for its part, denied the arrests in the West Bank came as a response to what is happening in Gaza.
"The legitimate regime in the West Bank is merely fulfilling its obligations toward securing its citizens’ welfare. The arrests are part of a routine activity conducted by the security organizations," said Abu A-Rubb.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas is now under pressure from his own party members to react swiftly before Hamas’ revolution – which began in Gaza in June 2007 – spreads to the West Bank.
"The Al-Aq’sa Martyrs Brigades [Fatah’s armed wing] demand from Chairman ‘Abbas to issue a decree referring to Hamas as an insurgent, illegal movement," said Zakariyya Zbeidi, an AMB leader in Jenin. The latter further warned that AMB would not wait long before it responded to the crimes committed by Hamas in Gaza.