Hamas condemns raid on the home of imprisoned lawmaker and arrest of his son

RAMALLAH, Hamas condemned, on Sunday, the raid against the home of imprisoned law maker Sheikh Fathi al-Qara”wi, in the Nour Shams refugee camp east of Tulkarem, and the kidnapping of his eldest son.

Hamas said in a press statement that breaching the sanctity of the imprisoned lawmaker”s, crossing all national, legal and moral red lines, is but one in a chain of violations by the Fatah movement against Hamas since the latter won the legislative elections almost three years ago.

The movement added that it can no longer believe claims by Fatah that it was after reconciliation and national unity and will not allow a repeat of the shedding of the blood of Abu Karsh on the eve of the Makka talks, adding that pointers on the ground to Fatah”s seriousness about dialogue are more important and realistic than their press releases.

Hamas further said that these breaches could only mean one of two things: the first is that Abbas who is the commander and chief of the Palestinian security forces is not really in control of these forces, and the second is that this is a policy that Fatah has practiced and continue to practice against Hamas after Hamas won the elections. In either case Fatah is not qualified to enter into national reconciliation talks and should be rehabilitated to the patriotic and moral level that qualifies it for such talks.

Furthermore, Hamas held Mahmoud Abbas fully responsible for the continued attacks on its MPs and supporters adding that an assault against an imprisoned Palestinian lawmaker is an assault on all Palestinian captives and the whole Palestinian population.

Finally, the movement said that it will remain the safety valve for the Palestinian best interests and will not allow the loss of rights, adding that it will document all breaches to make sure that rights are restored in the proper manner.