By Xinhua
Ramallah : A number of Hamas leaders in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday slammed their movement’s takeover of the Gaza Strip after fighting against security forces of President Mahmoud Abbas of rival Fatah.
“We condemn the military settlement that Hamas staged in Gaza Strip and other things that happened in June 2007,” Moussa al-Kharaz, a senior Hamas leader in Nablus, told a news conference. Two more leaders, Zuhiar Lubada and Ramez Salha, also spoke in the news conference in addition to other Hamas members whom the pro-Abbas security forces released from their prisons.
In a bid to end a crackdown against Hamas in the West Bank, al-Kharaz revealed a deal between his movement and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to hand over arms of Hamas activists. “Any one surrenders will not stay in the PNA’s headquarters more than 30-40 minutes,” said al-Kharaz, calling on the security forces to stop political detention of Hamas members. “We hope this development will be a new era for living and we call for recognizing the Palestinian (National) Authority under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas,” al-Kharaz said. Gradually, the PNA will start reopening West Bank Hamas charities and association which were closed after June in response to Hamas’ takeover of Gaza.
Immediately after the press conference, Hamas movement in Gaza urged its West Bank members not to hand over their weapons and said al-Kharaz doesn’t represent the Islamic movement. The call appeared as a flash on Pal-media. net, a pro-Hamas news website.