Palestinian police blocked a West Bank rally on Saturday by some 200 women supporters of Hamas angry at the detention of scores of Islamists since the movement's June takeover of Gaza Strip. A police cordon blocked the women from marching from the Al-Bireh mosque in the central city of Ramallah, AFP reported.
Police loyal to President Abbas detained three teenagers among the demonstrators, who included mothers and wives of some of the detained Islamists, the repoty added. Hamas said a woman member of parliament who was among the protesters was also beaten up by police.
"The attacks by the Palestinian Authority security services against a peaceful demonstration organised by mothers and wives shows the repression being carried out by the Ramallah regime against Hamas in the West Bank, even against its women," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP in Gaza City. Hamas said that security forces loyal to Abbas had detained a further six of its members in the northern West Bank in the previous 24 hours, including two municipal councillors in the city of Nablus.
Hamas lawmaker Mona Munsoor said some 150 Hamas supporters had been jailed by Fatah-aligned forces in the West Bank for political reasons. "The conditions are very harsh and they have been beaten," Munsoor told Reuters. "We, the mothers, want to show the world what Fatah is doing to us."
A senior security official said less than 100 Hamas supporters are being held in Palestinian jails.
