[JPost] Paleo Unity Feverâ„¢, catch it!| The alternative being surrendering the West Bank to become a second Hamas fiefdom. About time they stopped fussing about The Joooooos and started focussing on their existential enemy. |
In separate statements, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), whose members are the prime targets of the ongoing clampdown, called for an end to the measures taken by the PA security forces.
A PA official in Ramallah said that the security measures were designed to "enforce law and order" and "prevent attempts by thugs and armed gangs to undermine the Palestinian Authority and disturb the peace."
The official dismissed accusations that the PA leadership was exploiting the security crackdown to target political rivals and silence critics.
In the past week, PA security officers prevented Hamas, PIJ and PFLP supporters from carrying their flags and banners in public. The officers also arrested several Hamas and PIJ members in different parts of the West Bank.
On Friday, PA plainclothes security officers intercepted a funeral procession in Bethlehem and confiscated flags and banners belonging to Hamas, PIJ and PFLP.
The incident took place during the funeral of 14-year-old Amjad Abu Sultan, who was killed by IDF soldiers last month as he was trying to throw a Molotov cocktail at Israeli vehicles from an area that overlooks Route 60. His body was handed over to the Palestinians last week.
On Thursday, PA security officers raided the town of Tammun in the Jenin area and confiscated PIJ banners during a reception held by the group for Azmi Bani Odeh, a local resident who had just been released from Israeli prison.
Odeh was arrested by Israeli authorities shortly after his brother, Saddam, was killed during a clash with IDF soldiers. Saddam, 26, was known as a leading PIJ activist.
Earlier last week, PA security officers attacked a number of Palestinians during a reception in Ramallah for Mu’tasem Zaloum, a Hamas member who was released from Israeli prison. The officers confiscated Hamas flags and summoned several participants for interrogation. They also used tear gas to disperse the Hamas supporters.
A similar incident took place in the village of Bala’ah, near Tulkarm, where Palestinian security forces prevented residents from holding a reception for Hani Barabrah, another Hamas activist released from Israeli prison.