Israel Matzav

'Palestinian' civil war watch: Six Dwaik aides arrested

Six aides to 'Palestinian Legislative Council' speaker Abdul Aziz Dwaik were arrested on Sunday night shortly after their boss held a press conference announcing that the Council would not dissolve on Monday when its four-year term is up. Dwaik is Hamas' most senior representative in the 'West Bank.'

They were taken into custody after the agents, who belong to the PA's General Intelligence Service, intercepted two cars carrying Dwaik and Hamas legislator Mahmoud Ramahai in Ramallah.

The six were identified as Firas Abed, Baha Farah, Khaldoun Mazloum, Murad Abu Baha, Ibrahim al-Sabi and Abdullah Ghanem.

Dwaik condemned the arrest of his aides as "an act of piracy" and "an assault on his parliamentary immunity." He also warned that the arrests could harm efforts by some Arab countries to achieve "national reconciliation" between Hamas and Fatah.

Dwaik urged PA President Mahmoud Abbas to "halt the process of lies and misinformation" regarding his desire to end the conflict with Hamas. He added that the arrests were an indication of the "continued moral, political and security deterioration of the Palestinian Authority policies in the West Bank."

The PLC speaker expressed fear that the latest move against his staff was part of a wider scheme aimed at launching a new offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The arrests were prompted by Dwaik's announcement during the press conference that the PLC would not be dissolved when its four-year mandate expires on Monday. Dwaik also called for holding a new session of the PLC in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at the request of one-quarter of the legislators.

The PLC has not been able to meet over the past few years due to the crisis between Hamas and Fatah.

Dwaik justified the decision to extend the mandate of the PLC by arguing that it ends only when newly-elected members of the parliament are sworn in.

I wonder if the Dayton forces will do any better against Hamas than Dahlan's men did in Gaza. Then again, we'll probably never have to find out. The IDF is there to protect Fatah.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:34 PM