Senior Hamas officials accused the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday of campaigning against it in Judea and Samaria. The terrorist group, which wrestled control of the Gaza Strip from PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in a military coup in 2007, said PA security forces targeted Hamas supporters during released prisoners' celebrations and banned the waving of Hamas flags.
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Deputy Hamas leader Zahar Jabarin accused the PA of curtailing the group's activities in Judea and Samaria and Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said Fatah acted under pressure from "forces hostile to the Palestinian people" that dictated its actions.
Criticism against the PA came after several clashes between Hamas members and PA security forces. According to reports, forces targeted members who waved Hamas flags during the reception of released prisoners. The members, in turn, threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the forces. One man was reportedly injured in the clashes.
Following the clashes, Ismail Haniyeh, chief of Hamas' political bureau, called on the PA on Wednesday to stop harming Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and seize political arrests and its security cooperation with Israel.
Haniyeh also criticized the PA for what he defined as "sanctions on the Gaza Strip."
"I call on the Palestinian Authority, especially in the West Bank, to stop its policy of aggression and attacks on our people … Unfortunately, we have recently witnessed impertinence by some among the security forces toward our people, even during prisoner release celebrations."
The PA rejected the accusations and claimed the escalation was set up by Hamas with the goal of undermining stability in the area. Security services spokesperson Talal Dweikat hinted that Hamas was the one acting in Israel's interest, saying that what happened in the territories "came as part of shifting from its natural course to serve the occupation intentionally or unintentionally."
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