Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has decided to fire civil servants linked to Hamas in the latest move against the rival movement since it seized power in the Gaza Strip. "This decision was proposed three days ago by prime minister Salam Fayyad and finalised on Friday by Mr Abbas. It will remain in force as long as Hamas continues to control the Gaza Strip by force," a Palestinian official on Saturday told AFP.
According to the Palestinian official, the decision affected civil servants appointed after a power-sharing agreement in February paved the way for a short-lived national unity government headed by Hamas.
Meanwhile, Israel intends to take 110 Palestinian fighters in the West Bank off its wanted list, Palestinian officials said on Saturday. Israel granted amnesty to 178 men from Abbas' secular Fatah group last month, on condition they renounce violence. None were responsible for any Israeli deaths.
Akram Rajoub, head of the Preventive Security Forces in the West Bank city of Nablus, said Israeli officials had conveyed a list of 110 Palestinians set to receive amnesty.
"The wanted Palestinians mentioned in the list are to surrender their weapons to Palestinian security departments and sign documents saying they will not launch any attacks on Israel," Rajoub was quoted as saying by Reuters.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
