|
Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday declared a Hamas security force in Gaza illegal after a surge in internal violence, a move that quickly stoked political tensions.
Throwing down the gauntlet to Abbas, the governing Hamas movement's "Executive Force" said it would double its size to 12,000 personnel.
Hamas created the force after forming a government last March and had defied a previous order by Abbas to integrate personnel into other security services.
"The President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas ... considers the executive force, both officers and individuals, illegal and outlawed," Abbas's office said in a statement.
The statement said the Hamas force would remain illegal until it complied with Abbas's previous decision.
Speaking hours after the announcement, a spokes-man for the Hamas force said its numbers would double from nearly 6,000.
"A decision was taken to increase the number of the executive force to 12,000," Islam Shahwan said. The Interior Ministry said Abbas's order would stir unrest.
"This is a green light to those who have decided to target the executive force and shed the blood of its members," ministry spokes-man Khalid Abu Hilal said.
Prime Minister Esmail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, said the force was part of the security apparatus because it came under Interior Ministry control.
He said Abbas's order "contradicted the positive atmosphere" at meetings between the two men last week, where they agreed to keep gunmen off Gaza's streets.
|
