Israeli troops stormed the shopping mall in this West Bank city Tuesday and ordered it to close, saying the popular facility is linked to the militant Islamic Hamas.The overnight move was the latest in a widening crackdown on the militant Islamic group in the West Bank, even as Israel observes a cease-fire with the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. Israel kept a vital Gaza cargo crossing open though Palestinians fired three mortar shells at Israel on Tuesday, violating a three-week-old truce.
Hamas condemned the Nablus operation as 'provocative.' Palestinian witnesses said the troops surrounded the Nablus Mall after midnight, sealing the building and posting closure orders in shop windows. 'There were dozens of soldiers, lots of jeeps,' said Ali Ashur, 28, who owns a cell phone shop. He said he rushed to the scene about 2 a.m. after a security guard alerted him to the raid.
The five-story mall is one of the most popular spots in Nablus, a city of 135,000 that serves as the West Bank's commercial center. It has about 70 shops, including clothing stores, wedding shops and a restaurant.
The order, signed by an Israeli general who oversees the West Bank, said the building will be closed on Aug. 15, giving shop owners more than a month to move their businesses. 'Anyone found in this center after Aug. 15, will be considered as working on behalf of Hamas and puts himself and his properties in danger,' the order said.
However, shops were closed Tuesday to protest the Israeli order. Businesses throughout the city prepared to hold a general strike on Wednesday as well.
Israeli security officials said the mall is owned by Hamas, the violent Islamic group branded a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and the EU. 'Profits made by stores are used to sponsor terror,' said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military guidelines.
The listed owner of the mall is Beit al-Mal, a company whose partners include Nablus Mayor Adli Yaish, a Hamas politician who has been imprisoned by Israel.
Osman Muslah, a business partner of Yaish, said the company has many partners. 'This does not belong to Hamas,' he said. 'We will fight this order through the law.'
Tuesday's raid came a day after Israeli troops swooped down on other alleged Hamas targets in Nablus. They shut down a girls' school, a medical center and two other facilities of a Hamas-affiliated charity, witnesses said. Computers, documents, cash and furniture were seized, they said.