Palestinian security forces in the West Bank arrested dozens of members of the Islamist movement Hamas, sources on both sides said. The Palestinian Authority (PA), which has its headquarters in Ramallah, has regularly detained Hamas members, including MPs, over the past few years.
But the ongoing crackdown is a sign of the failure of a nearly year-old unity deal between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the rival Fatah which dominates the PA.
“We received information that 60 members of Hamas were arrested throughout the West Bank,” a source from the Hamas headquarters in the territory, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP without elaborating.An official from the PA’s security forces, also requesting anonymity, said there were around 40 arrests, but also gave no further details.