Fatah Prisoners Freed in Gaza
Hamas today freed 35 members of the Fatah party detained in Gaza. The interior ministry spokesman in Gaza said that “the 35 prisoners were released to mark the holiday of Eid el-Fitr, celebrating the end of the Ramadan fasting month, and to reinforce Egypt’s mediation.” The Egyptian mediation referred to are the talks between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and both Hamas and Fatah, due to resume on October 8th.
These prisoner releases are significant, in that Palestinian factional unrest is a major impediment to the peace process. Fatah has accused Hamas of politically motivated arrests in the wake of the June 2007 power struggle in Gaza, while Hamas maintains this is untrue.
Gavin Yerxa
