Leaders and representatives of various Palestinian factions condemned Hamas and its security apparatuses, in the Gaza Strip, for attacks against the Fateh movement, its supporters and institutions.
Sources in Gaza said that Hamas began an arrest campaign against Fateh movement members, threatening to force dozens not to participate in the 54th celebration of the movement.
Earlier Friday, unknown assailants raided the headquarters of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) in Gaza City, destroying a large amount of equipment, including that used for transmission and recording, in addition to cameras, computers and items of furniture.
The assailants also destroyed the archives of recorded tapes, as well as the portraits of President Mahmoud Abbas and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Government spokesman Yousef al-Mahmoud described the incident as a “barbaric attack by mercenaries and paid squads of chaos” on the official and sovereign bodies of the State of Palestine.
Minister Ahmad Assaf, the General Supervisor of the Official Media and the chairman of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), blamed Hamas, the de facto authority in Gaza, as being responsible for the attack.
Assaf personally blamed the chairman of the Hamas politburo and Hamas’ chief in the Gaza Strip for the attack, given the fact that Hamas has been the de facto ruler of the Strip since its takeover of the enclave from the Palestinian Authority in 2007.
“This crime comes in conjunction with the Israeli attack on the official Palestinian media. A few days ago, a Palestine TV correspondent was injured [by Israeli soldiers] in Nablus while reporting on the crimes of the occupation. Before that, the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) was raided [by Israeli army],” Assaf said during an aired interview with official Palestine TV.
