Hamas security force in Strip
Photo: AFP
Fatah: Hamas planned coup in West Bank
Detained Hamas members admitted they were planning military takeover of West Bank, PA security forces say
Hamas has been trying to set up a security branch and carry out a military takeover in the West Bank similar to the one it executed in the Gaza Strip, Fatah's security forces claimed Monday.
According to a Fatah statement, several Hamas members who were recently detained by its security forces admitted to planning the coup, the al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported.
Security officials said that the detainees' confessions made it clear beyond doubt that Hamas intended to expand its control to the West Bank, adding that large quantities of weapons and explosives seized from the members helped corroborate the confessions.
Fatah rejected Hamas' allegations that the prisoners had been tortured in order to force false confessions from them, stating that human rights activists and the prisoners' wives were allowed to visit them.
Since Hamas' violent takeover of the Strip, the Palestinian Authority has been cracking down on Hamas operatives in the West Bank. The Palestinian government last week ordered the closure of 103 institutions in the West Bank and Gaza, in a move apparently aimed against Hamas.
