The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) headed by Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) released dozens of Hamas terrorists on Thursday, according to PA-based media. A total of 45 Hamas terrorists from Shechem, Ramallah and elsewhere were released from PA prisons.
The release was intended to boost trust between Fatah and Hamas as the Fatah-led PA attempts to reunify with its terrorist rival. The two groups split in 2007 with the violent Hamas takeover of Gaza.
Hamas has warned Fatah that it will not agree to unity unless all Hamas terrorists are released from PA jails. Hamas refers to the prisoners as “political detainees.”
According to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news, the release was carried out at the request of Egyptian intelligence head Omar Suleiman. Suleiman is involved in talks between Fatah and Hamas and between Hamas in Gaza and Israel.
The Fatah-led PA has committed to fighting terrorism as part of the process of creating an independent Arab state in Judea and Samaria. The PA has received weapons and training from the United States in order to allow it to fight terrorist groups.
PA leaders say their troops have been successful in the struggle against terrorism, but critics argue that the PA has targeted its political rivals while sentencing Fatah-affiliated terrorists with light punishments. Many Fatah terrorists have served three months or less in prison, after which they were allowed to serve in the PA armed forces.