PA rounds up four Hamas men in West Bank, summons dozens

[ 03/05/2011 - 12:18 PM ]

WEST BANK, (PIC)-- Palestinian Authority security forces rounded up four Hamas men and summoned dozens for questioning including women as Fatah and Hamas politicians near the signing of a national reconciliation deal in Cairo.

PA security chiefs have openly rejected the agreement between parties ruling Palestine and vowed to continue targeting Hamas in the West Bank, as it sees the group as a security threat to the Israelis.

Locals reported Tuesday that preventive security nabbed three of those men in the Askar refugee camp. All of the men have been previously held in the custody of the PA security forces.

The fourth man was taken while responding to a call for questioning by intelligence in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil.

The same day, dozens of Hamas supporters were summoned, including several women, among them the mother of a man detained in Tulkarem.

In a related development, security agencies in Nablus have brought 19 men in Al-Juneid prison to a military tribunal where it was ruled that their trials would be postponed until June 12.

Some of those men have been held prisoner for over five months after a long period of interrogation and torture, according to statements by their relatives.

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