In the wake of renewed civil war between the Fatah and Hamas terror factions in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah has fired approximately 1,000 police and security officers suspected of affiliation with Hamas or Hamas supporters.
After last year's Hamas coup, in which the openly anti-Israel Hamas overthrew the more internationally accepted Fatah in Gaza, PA head Mahmoud Abbas formed a commission of inquiry to determine the reasons for Fatah's defeat. The committee concluded that at least one-third of PA officers, commanders and armed officers served as Hamas agents inside the PA. The discovery led to the dismissal of many of the organizations' commanders and officers.
New recruits are being comprehensively questioned and investigated to ensure that they do not have Hamas affiliations.