By RIA Novosti,
Gaza : The Israeli army has closed down four West Bank-based organizations suspected of being affiliated with the radical Islamist group Hamas, local radio reported on Monday.
The operation to close down the organizations, involving several dozen armored vehicles, took place in the city of Nablus. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that the raid had taken place, but refused to give any further details.
Palestine’s Maan news agency said a clinic was among the organizations forced to close down. According to other media reports, a school for girls, a sports club, and a charity organization have also been closed.
“The Israelis destroyed all the clinic’s equipment, and confiscated 1,500 Jordanian dinars ($2,100) and 10,000 Israeli shekels ($3,000),” the hospital’s chief doctor was quoted as saying.
He also denied any links with Hamas, saying that the hospital had been built in 1977 – ten years before the creation of Hamas.
“We consider the Israeli decision to shut down charities that look after the families of martyrs, orphans and poor people a moral crime,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in Gaza. “This is an inhumane act against the poorest sectors of Palestinian society,” he went on.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza agreed on a truce three weeks ago. The deal is limited to the enclave and has already been broken by Gaza-based militants who have fired rockets into Israel in response to Israeli ‘aggression’ in the West Bank.
Hamas seized control of Gaza from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement more than a year ago.