Hamas arrests PA intelligence officers, accuses them of collaboration with Israel - report
Reports claim between six to ten PA intelligence officers were arrested on charges of collaborating with the IDF and Israel's Shin Bet.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFPalestinian members of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement seen next to a memorial named “Shehab Field,” a drone made by al-Qassam, in Gaza City, September 21, 2022.(photo credit: ATTIA MUHAMMED/FLASH90)
An unconfirmed number of Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence Service members were apprehended in Gaza by Hamas after being accused of sneaking into the Gaza Strip in collaboration with Israel, according to Arab media reports on Monday, citing an interview on Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV.
According to the reports, the General Intelligence Service members entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt during a mission to secure and facilitate the humanitarian aid truck convoys. At some point after entrance, they were apprehended by Hamas terrorists.
An unnamed Hamas official told Al-Aqsa TV that the PA General Intelligence Service leader, Majed Faraj, was using this mission as a guise with the aim of creating a "state of confusion and chaos among the ranks of the home front, and with security from the Israeli Shin Bet service and the enemy army.”
The Hamas Official claimed that ten service members were arrested and that the issue had been "dealt with."
Arab media quoted Faraj as saying that it was six intelligence officers who entered the strip and were arrested.
Palestinians carry bags of flour they grabbed from an aid truck near an Israeli checkpoint, as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, February 19, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Kosay Al Nemer/File Photo)
Palestinian Authority responds to the arrests and Hamas statements
An unnamed PA official in Ramallah said in a separate statement, “The statement of the so-called Hamas Interior Ministry about the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip yesterday is baseless, and we will continue to provide everything necessary to provide relief to our people.”
Recently, Israel and the UN have been blaming each other for logistical issues delaying the entrance of sufficient humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
