87 members of Hallas family who fled Gaza, arrived in Jericho

Tuesday August 05, 2008 07:54 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Maan News Agency reported on Monday that 87 members of Hallas family, supporters of Fateh movement, who fled out of the Gaza Strip after clashing with Hamas’ security forces on Friday, arrived in Jericho on three buses.

The agency stated that the buses were heavily guarded by the Israeli army and that the residents onboard were thoroughly investigated.

Head of the Israeli Civil Administration Office, Yuval Mordachai, stated that the army coordinated the transfer with the Palestinian Authority for “humanitarian proposes”.   

He added that the 87 members will be granted temporary permits to stay in Jericho but will remain under Israeli security supervision.

Arafat Hallas, the spokesperson of the family members, said that they left Gaza after they ran out of ammunition during clashed with Hamas forces and that the cause of the clashes was previous feuds between Hamas and the family.

He also said that Hamas is trying to empty Gaza from its Fateh supporters.   

Meanwhile, Ahmad Hallas, one of Fateh leaders who fled out of Gaza along with dozens of his family members, is currently still under interrogation by the Israeli security services. He was initially hospitalized in Israel and then he was taken by the Shabak Security Services for interrogation.

Thirty members of Hallas family were forced back into Gaza and were arrested by Hamas security forces. On Sunday, Human Rights Groups in Israel filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court of Justice demanding the army not to return the fleeing members to Gaza as they will be arrested by Hamas.

gaza strip | internal unrest | news report saed at imemc dot org