Hamas: Sawafta did not surrender to Abbas’s militia

Hamas issued a statement on Friday saying that news reports claiming that Faze” Sawafta, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, surrendered himself to Abbas”s militia were false.

 

Hamas added, in its statement, that what happened over the past two weeks is that there were intensive communications between Faze” Sawafta and the Egyptian ambassador in Ramallah where the latter invited him for a meeting to discuss the latest events in the West Bank.

 

Sawafta accepted the invitation to meet the ambassador only after he was given assurances for Abbas”s security chiefs to the Egyptian ambassador that Sawafta will not be arrested or harmed.

 

Hamas said that the meeting between the ambassador and Sawafta took place and ambassador asked him to visit the General Security headquarters in Ramallah to discuss with security chiefs the latest events in the West Bank. Sawafta accepted the ambassador”s suggestion because he was keen to clear the atmosphere for the inter-Palestinian dialogue to succeed, according to Hamas”s statement.

 

The movement explained that it was looking forward for such meetings to bear fruits and the Ramallah authority release all political prisoners.

 

Hamas stressed that Sawafta is one of its political leaders in the West Bank and he has no connections with the armed wing of the movement.