"The cells were in several cities and meant to organize a revolt against
the Palestinian leadership," the official said.
Hamas said Qatanani was sentenced on May 11 by the Nablus court. Later,
PA officials confirmed the report.
In 2008, Abbas and other PA officials asserted that Hamas was planning
to overthrow the Palestinian government in the West Bank. But this was the
first time a Hamas member was prosecuted and convicted on those charges.
Hamas has acknowledged that Qatanani was a member of the movement's
military wing. But Hamas denied that Qatanani was part of any coup plot.
"Abbas's security forces have failed to prove that Qatanani or other
detained Hamas supporters had used weapons against the PA," Hamas
representative Fazi Sawaftah said. "This is part of the massive and fierce
campaign against Hamas and attempts to destroy our movement."
The PA has arrested more than 600 Hamas operatives as part of a
crackdown on the Islamic movement. The Hamas regime has been arresting Fatah
members in the Gaza Strip.
On May 12, Hamas reported that the PA detained five Islamic operatives
in the West Bank. Hamas said PA security forces also raided an Islamic
charity near Hebron and a female dormitory in Kalkilya. One of those
detained was identified as a member of Hizb Tahrir, an Al Qaida-aligned
movement said to be popular in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
