"We will not tolerate the arrest of any of our members," Abu Hamza Al
Maqdasi, a Salafist leader, said on Feb. 10.
Al Maqdasi, who represents the Jihadiya Salafiya group, said Hamas
forces were arresting prominent members. He cited a raid in the Shati
refugee camp outside Gaza City in which Abu Mutassim Al Muqdasi, identified
as a leading Al Qaida-aligned operative, was detained.
Al Muqdisi, also known as Mahmoud Taleb, was said to have been shot in
the back during the raid on late Feb. 9. He said this marked the third time
Taleb was arrested.
"His life is in danger," Al Maqdasi said.
"We emphasize that our resistance to the enemy will not stop," Abu Bara
Al Masri, another Salafist leader, said.
Al Qaida-aligned groups have been blamed for a spate of bombings
throughout the area of Gaza City in 2010. On Feb. 13, a monument of a late
Palestinian insurgency leader was bombed and destroyed in the northern Gaza
Strip refugee camp of Jabalya. About 10 days earlier, the monument to the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist group, had been
defaced.
Al Masri, however, said the explosions stemmed from a feud within Hamas
security forces. He did not elaborate.
The Hamas Interior Ministry said Taleb was a suspect in the bombing
campaign. Ministry spokesman Ihab Al Ghussein said Taleb was deemed a
leading fugitive.
"The security authorities are investigating," Al Ghussein said.
Hamas has also been arresting foreigners linked to dissident groups. On
Feb. 14, Hamas police arrested a British journalist, identified as Paul
Martin, who had been covering the trial of an operative of the Abu Rish
Brigades.
"The British journalist violated Palestinian law and the security of the
state," Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Ghussein said.