Hamas presents evidence PA 'spied on resistance' in Gaza

The Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza released recordings Saturday, purporting to show that the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah spied on Palestinain fighters in Gaza.

The recordings, both audio and video, are of members of the former security agencies affiliated to the Ramallah authority. They suggest that the PA's security agencies were responsible for various "spying" incidents in Gaza.

The first tape shows three people 'confessing' to torching vehicles on the instructions of a leading security official in the West Bank. Ibrahim al-Madhoun, Aahed Abu Qamar and Ibrahim Abdul Aal said the adviser to the head of intelligence in the southern governorates, Sami Nasman, had told them they would receive regular salaries in return for carrying out the vandalism.

Telephone calls were also released between security officials in Ramallah and their employees in the Gaza Strip asking them to spy on the Islamic Jihad movement and its military structure. They asked them to send the PA maps detailing the location of rockets belonging to al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

Many Palestinian men, women, and children were killed when targets identified by this information were bombed.

The maps, it is suggested, were later delivered to Israel, and were used targeted by Israeli war planes during the aggression on the Gaza Strip in summer 2014. 

One employee was also asked to keep an eye on a celebration organised by Islamic Jihad and to take photos of any new rockets or weapons paraded.

Speaking at a press conference before the recordings were released, the ministry of interior spokesperson, Iyad al-Bezem, said the list of incidents included collecting information about the goals of the different resistance factions and handing this to PA security officers in Ramallah, before it was passed to Israel.

The former security officials also tried to spread chaos and insstability in the aftermath of the aggression on Gaza last summer. They did this, for example, by causing explosions, torching vehicles, and firing guns, Bezem explained.

He accused security agencies in Ramallah of inciting against Gaza and of working to create hostility between the Strip and neighbouring states, especially Egypt. Bezem said Hamas had hundreds of documents to back up this claim.

The spokesperson called for a national committee to be formed to look at the hundreds of documents they posess highlighting the Ramallah security agencies' involvement in Gaza. They hope to send these agencies security coordination with Israel.

Bezem said he held Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Rami al-Hamadallah responsible for events in Gaza and the actions of the security agencies.

Investigations are continuing until all involved in breaching the security and stability in Gaza are uncovered, Bezem argued.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.