The Israeli army attacked the Palestinian Authority’s civil defense offices in the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday morning, and kidnapped one officer.
PA sources said that soldiers stormed the office after destroying the doors and firing live rounds through the windows. Troops searched the premises before kidnapping Zaher Hassan, a civil defense officer working in the office.
Hassan, originally from the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, was formally part of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of President Abbas’ Fatah movement. Last November, an amnesty deal was reached whereby Israel ceased pursuing Al Aqsa Brigades fighters who turned over their weapons to the Palestinian Authority. Hassan was part of this deal and is believed to have complied with all of the restrictions placed on those men granted amnesty.
This is not the first time the army has attacked former Fatah resistance fighters who signed the immunity deal. Three weeks ago, the Israeli army attacked a Palestinian Authority security office in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, killing one and abducting a further three, all of which signatories to the immunity deal.
