Hamas condemns Palestinian Authority operations

Hamas condemned the Palestinian Authority's operation in Gaza and Naples in the West Bank in which members of Hamas were arrested and 16 institutions that are offshoots of Hamas were closed. But Hamas declared that it will avoid creating an internal rift at any expense.

Hamas spokesmen in Gaza declared that the operations targeted charity and social associations that included the Islamic Society, the Islamic Complex, the Islamic Society Club, and the Holy Lands Association in Gaza, in addition to the Horizon TV station in Naples which broadcasted religious not political programs for one and half years.

The PA security forces asked the press to accompany them during the operations. The forces placed notices on those places saying, "Closed by the Palestinian police until further notice." The same thing happened last year when the Palestinian police made massive arrests that were filmed in the aftermath of a number of suicide attacks in Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials said that the US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reminded the PA during her recent visit to the region that combating terrorism requires operations similar to those implemented in 1996.