Hamas says it may skip Cairo 'sulha' because of Fatah clampdown

PA officials in Ramallah accuse Hamas of looking for an excuse not to attend the conference.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
pa police 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
pa police 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Hamas has threatened to boycott an Egyptian-sponsored "national reconciliation" conference in Cairo after accusing the Palestinian Authority of beginning a large-scale crackdown against the movement's supporters in the West Bank in the past few days. Hamas officials said over the weekend that they had notified the Egyptians that the movement was "seriously" considering staying away from the conference, which is scheduled to begin on November 9, unless Cairo pressured the PA to halt the clampdown. PA officials in Ramallah accused Hamas of looking for an excuse not to attend the conference. "They [Hamas] don't like the Egyptian ideas for solving the crisis in the Palestinian arena," said one official. "Now that the Egyptians have sent out the invitations to the conference, Hamas is trying to find a way out. Hamas does not want to give up control over the Gaza Strip." To be held under the auspices of Egyptian intelligence chief Gen. Omar Suleiman, the planned conference is primarily aimed at ending the power struggle between Hamas and Fatah. At least 12 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, have agreed to attend the gathering, the first of its kind since Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in June 2007. Although it has expressed reservations about Egypt's proposals for solving the dispute with Fatah, Hamas grudgingly agreed to participate to avoid being condemned by the Palestinians as standing in the way of achieving Palestinian unity. Hamas officials over the weekend accused the PA security forces in the West Bank of stepping up their arrests of Hamas supporters there. The officials said the latest campaign was apparently aimed at "thwarting" Egypt's efforts to end the crisis between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas is particularly enraged by the PA's ongoing massive security operation in the Hebron area, which has long been a Hamas stronghold. The campaign, which began last week with the deployment of some 600 additional PA policemen, has resulted so far in the arrest of dozens of Hamas supporters and the closure of several Hamas-affiliated charities. Sources in Hebron told The Jerusalem Post that the PA policemen also raided several Hamas-run mosques and confiscated "inflammatory" material and megaphones. Among those taken into custody are imams, university students, teachers and political activists, the sources said. A Hamas official said Saturday that the PA security forces had arrested more than 100 Hamas supporters in Hebron and other parts of the West Bank over the past week alone. PA security officials said almost all those arrested were "criminals." Rafat Nasif, a senior Hamas representative from Tulkarm and a member of the group's delegation to the planned Cairo conference, said his movement has made an urgent appeal to the Egyptians to intervene with PA President Mahmoud Abbas to halt the anti-Hamas offensive in the West Bank. "We believe that there are some Fatah leaders who are trying to foil Egypt's mediation efforts," he said. "If this campaign continues, we will have to reconsider our participation in the national reconciliation conference." Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas in the Gaza Strip, accused Abbas's security forces of waging an "unprecedented" campaign against Hamas members and senior figures in the West Bank. He added that the campaign escalated after Egypt sent out invitations to the Palestinian factions to attend the conference. Barhoum accused Abbas and his top aides of conducting "security coordination" with Israel to eliminate Hamas's presence in the West Bank. "Unless the Egyptians interfere immediately and stop this vicious campaign against Hamas, we won't be able to go to the conference," he said. "Abbas's actions in the West Bank will sabotage any chance of achieving reconciliation." The two Hamas officials said they were also disappointed because Abbas had failed to free Hamas prisoners in response to the release of 17 Fatah detainees from Hamas prisons in Gaza last week. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh ordered the release of the Fatah men as a goodwill gesture to Abbas and Fatah on the eve of the Cairo meeting. Abu Obaidah, spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin Kassam, accused Abbas's security forces of betraying the Palestinians by helping Israel get rid of Hamas in the West Bank. "Abbas's policemen are traitors," he said. "They have become Zionists because they are openly targeting the Palestinian resistance groups."