‘Enemy collaborators’ – Hamas arrests PA officers in Gaza

Hamas and the PA have been bitter rivals for decades, with tensions often spilling over into bloodshed.

By World Israel News Staff

Members of the Palestinian Authority’s intelligence agency were arrested by Hamas after they covertly entered the Gaza Strip, according to Arabic-language media reports.

The PA officers are believed to have entered the coastal enclave in order to ensure that humanitarian aid would be distributed to civilians.

The Israeli army and NGOs have reported that Hamas gunmen and armed local clans often seize truckloads of humanitarian aid, robbing the drivers at gunpoint.

Allegedly entering the strip in coordination with Egyptian officials via the Rafah border crossing, the PA officials were said to be supervising the aid convoys before being discovered by Hamas.

At least ten people were arrested and “dealt with” by the terror group, a Hamas official told Al-Aqsa TV.

The official told the outlet that the PA officers had not, in fact, entered the Strip in order to help civilians receive aid.

Rather, the official charged, the PA had sent operatives on a mission to create mayhem in the enclave, at the behest of Israel.

Their aim was to sow a “state of confusion and chaos among the ranks of the home front, [and were supported by] the Israeli Shin Bet service and the enemy army,” he said.

The Hamas representative did not provide any evidence for that claim.

In a media statement, the PA flatly denied the version of events presented by Hamas.

“The statement of the so-called Hamas Interior Ministry about the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip yesterday is baseless, and we will continue to provide everything necessary to provide relief to our people,” it said.

Hamas and the PA have been bitter rivals for decades, with tensions often spilling over into bloodshed.

However, in recent weeks, both Hamas and the PA have said that they are open to partnering together in order to administer post-war Gaza.