PA police find Hamas weapons cache

Kalkilya officers uncover seven explosive devices, propaganda against PA in 'abandoned' warehouse.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
pa police hebron 224 88 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
pa police hebron 224 88 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
A week after Palestinian Authority security forces uncovered an explosives lab under a mosque in Kalkilya, Palestinian police on Thursday discovered a warehouse in the West Bank city which was serving as a Hamas weapons cache. The police officers discovered the warehouse inadvertently during a chase after a gunman tried to evade arrest and ran into the seemingly abandoned building. The officers were shocked to find a weapons stockpile inside the three-story building, located only several hundred meters from the security barrier. At least seven explosive devices ready for detonation were reportedly found in the warehouse, as well as propaganda material against the Palestinian Authority and its security apparatuses. On Tuesday, PA security forces announced they had uncovered an explosives lab under a mosque during an operation in Kalkilya. Eight people were arrested during the operation, the PA police said. Adnan Damiri, a police spokesman, said two bombs were found in the lab. He would not say which organization the lab belonged to, but stated that it was run as part of efforts to destabilize PA President Mahmoud Abbas's rule. Meanwhile, a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip condemned the operation, and said the arrests were politically motivated.