"The Hamas decision was based on the assessment that its military wing
could not operate only in one part of Palestine," a PA official said. "Had
Israel decided to invade the Gaza Strip, there would no longer have been
anything left of the Hamas military infrastructure."
The officials said the money was used to acquire weapons, including
automatic
rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and advanced detonators for bombs.
Officials said Hamas was believed to have established military cells in
such West Bank cities as Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Kalkilya, Nablus and
Tulkarm. Each cell was headed by a Hamas commander and deputy, often trained
in Lebanon or Syria.
The PA has been working with Israel and the United States to identify
and target Hamas's military infrastructure. On May 31, six people were
killed in a PA security operation against a Hamas stronghold in the West
Bank city of Kalkilya. Three of the casualties were PA officers.
"We were stunned by the ferocity of the Hamas resistance," a PA security
source said. "In the past, Hamas would simply have thrown up their hands and
given up. Here, they decided to fight until the end."
The security source said Hamas's military wing has penetrated PA
security agencies as well as the ruling Fatah movement. The source said
Hamas agents in the PA were providing information on planned operations
against Hamas.
"The assessment is that Hamas does not want to try to topple the PA at
this point, but is steadily working up to that stage," the security source
said. "They believe that once our security forces become sufficiently
trained, we will target Hamas throughout the West Bank."
