BICOM

As Fatah and Hamas prepare to begin implementation of the new unity agreement, there are early indications that tensions remain between the two movements. A report in the Jerusalem Post noted that Hamas officials yesterday accused PA authorities in the West Bank of arresting a number of its supporters. The report quoted Wasfi Qabaha, a Hamas official in the West Bank, who claimed that 20 movement members have been arrested in different locations in the West Bank in recent days. He claimed that around 400 Hamas supporters are currently being held in PA jails. Fatah, meanwhile, complained that Hamas authorities in Gaza had refused to allow five senior Fatah officials to leave the Gaza Strip for the West Bank.  Fatah spokesmen said, however, that the Hamas authorities later rescinded the decision and allowed the men to travel to the West Bank, where they were due to attend a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council.                                                                           

The release of political prisoners held by both sides is one of the terms of the new agreement, and likely to be one of the sources of difficulty in its implementation. Western backed PA security forces in the West Bank have carried out an extensive crackdown on Hamas activists in the last few years. Security cooperation between the PA and Israel, and the PA’s relationship with its Western backers, will be called into question if the PA begins to release Hamas prisoners.

Further reading: BICOM Analysis: How is Israel reacting to Palestinian unity?