Fatah movement shuts offices in Gaza Strip

By Said Ibicioglu

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian group Fatah announced Friday the closure of all its offices in the Gaza Strip over security concerns.

Citing alleged recent incidents where the group’s officials had been arrested and threatened in the enclave, Fatah’s Gaza spokesman Atef Abu Yusuf told Anadolu Agency that all offices had been ordered shut until further notice.

Earlier on Friday, masked assailants raided the headquarters of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation in Gaza City, leaving staff injured and equipment destroyed.

The Hamas-led government condemned the attack, calling for its perpetrators to be arrested.

Fatah spokesman Atef Abu Seif had on Monday issued a statement alleging that Hamas had arrested over 500 of the group’s members -- including some senior officials -- ahead of a rally marking the 54th anniversary of the movement's founding.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry denied the allegations, saying only 38 people had been summoned for questioning, with all of them being subsequently released.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from Fatah after street fighting.

Last month, delegations from the two rival groups held talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo with a view to ending the inter-Palestinian division.

The talks were one of dozens of rounds in Cairo and several Arab capitals between Hamas and Fatah since the start of the rift in 2007, but they have yet to bear fruit.