RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has closed 92 charities linked to Hamas, officials said yesterday, part of an intensifying West Bank crackdown on the Islamic militants who seized the Gaza Strip and are challenging renewed peace talks with Israel.
Israel released 429 Palestinian prisoners to try to bolster Abbas and build on momentum from last week's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., where Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said they would aim to reach a peace deal in 2008.
Releasing Fatah thugs so they can beat down Hamas for Israel, huh?
Joy mixed with tears as buses carrying the prisoners, most of them from Abbas's Fatah movement, rolled into his walled headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Many had been arrested at the height of the Palestinian uprising several years ago, and were struggling with the transition to a new era of negotiations.
Former gunman Tareq Abu Lail, 24, said he hoped for peace, but doubted he would see success. Sentenced to eight years, he got out after three and said he was proud of his role in the uprising. His father, Yousef, 49, disagreed.
"The uprising is dead," he said. "We hope Annapolis will be the start of peace."
That's over, too, dumb-dumb!
The release, the largest in three years, was meant to boost Abbas, who is trying to win over a public skeptical about his peace effort and beat back challenges by Hamas.
Since Hamas's violent takeover of Gaza in June, Abbas has moved systematically against the Islamic militants in the West Bank. His security forces have arrested hundreds of Hamas supporters, and he issued tougher antimoney-laundering regulations to cut off Hamas funding from abroad.
Translation: Abass is ISRAEL'S ENFORCER!
Yesterday, Abbas's information minister, Riad Malki, said the government in the West Bank dissolved 92 Hamas-linked charity committees.
The committees were formed by prominent local and religious leaders under the supervision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The committees collect money and distribute it to the poor, usually during religious holidays. They were ordered closed two weeks ago, but the announcement was only made yesterday.
Malki said the committees were infiltrated by Hamas activists in previous years of Fatah rule. "They transformed the charity committees into financial empires to serve their political ends and activities," he said. One of the committees closed by Abbas, in the West Bank city of Nablus, said it provided aid to 3,200 families and 3,000 orphans, at a cost of $212,000 to $282,000 a month.
So now Fatah is COMPLICIT in ISRAEL'S WAR CRIMES of COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT!
The head of the committee, Abdel Rahim Hanbali, said most of the money came from local donations. Last Tuesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was scheduled to announce the formation of 11 charity committees to take the place of those dissolved.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the closure of the charities will lead to hunger in the West Bank. "It's an attempt to weaken Hamas, but the Palestinian citizen will pay the price, because they benefit from these committees."
It is what is known as COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT and a WAR CRIME!
Hamas's network of charities, schools, and clinics was a key factor in the rising popularity of the movement and contributed to its victory over Fatah in Parliament elections in 2006.
Doing what Fatah and Israel DO NOT!
At the same time, Fatah was weakened by deadlock in peace talks with Israel and widespread official corruption and mismanagement. As part of the renewed US-led peace efforts, Abbas has been pushing for Israeli confidence-building measures, such as prisoner releases, that would boost support for his policies."
Israel kill anybody yesterday, stink press?
