PA says it holds Hamas prisoners to keep them safe

          The Palestinian Authority announced over the weekend that it holds Hamas men in its prisons out of concern for their safety and to prevent Israel from capturing them. The announcement came as the PA and Hamas traded allegations over the arrest by the IDF of six Hamas men shortly after they were released from a Palestinian prison in Hebron last Thursday. PA officials said that Hamas ignored warnings by the Palestinian security forces that the men's lives would be in danger once they walked out of prison. “Hamas said that they would be responsible for the safety of their men and that’s why we released them,” said Gen. Adnan Dumairi, spokesman for the Fatah-dominated security forces in the West Bank. “The detainees and their families signed a document stating that they are fully aware of the risks and that they alone bear responsibility.” Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Hamas men were kept in a PA prison so that they wouldn’t be arrested by the IDF. Nimer Hammad, political advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, also lashed out at Hamas for pressuring the Palestinian leadership to release the six detainees. “We hold Hamas men in our prisons to protect them from Israel,” he stressed. The men who were arrested by the IDF were identified as Wael Bitar, Majdi Obeid, Ahmed Uwaiwi, Muhanad Nairoukh, Wissam Qawasmeh and Mohammed Sukiyeh. Some of them are suspected of involvement in terror attacks against settlers in the Hebron area, IDF sources said. A 66-year-old Palestinian, Omar Qawasmeh, was shot and killed by IDF soldiers during the raid on the home of his nephew, Bitar. Qawasmeh’s wife said that the soldiers opened fire at him while he was sleeping in his bed. (23,30)