Palestinian Authority on alert for Hamas takeover of West Bank

Oct 4, 2008, 10:27 GMT

Ramallah - Palestinian security forces in the West Bank have taken measures to prevent killings of leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the mainstream Palestinian party Fatah by the Islamic group Hamas, a pan-Arab newspaper reported on Saturday.

The London-based daily al-Sharq al-Awsat quoted Hamas members in West Bank as saying that the Islamists plan to take over the PA-ruled West Bank in the same way they took control of the Gaza Strip last year.

'The oppression that the security services put on us will not last for long,' a Hamas supporter was quoted as saying, referring to the Fatah crackdowns on Hamas members in the West Bank.

The source added that security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 'have not learned their lesson from what happened in Gaza.'

Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces in the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and seized control of the salient in reaction, Hamas claims, to attempts by Abbas' US and Israeli-backed Fatah movement to prevent Hamas from ruling after the Islamist party won parliamentary elections.

The Gaza Strip and West Bank became politically separate entities, with the two warring sides cracking down on their opponents.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas leader, based in Gaza, said the crackdown by pro-Abbas forces against Hamas members in the West Bank 'will backfire.'

Tensions between Hamas and Fatah continue despite Egyptian efforts to launch a Palestinian national dialogue.