Palestinian Authority collaborates with Israel by imprisoning resistance fighters

Hamas on Monday described the PA trial and sentencing of a Hamas member as a "serious precedence" and tantamount to putting the Palestinian resistance on trial.

Fawzi Barhoum, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said that the court in Ramallah was acting in concert with the Israeli occupation authorities by arresting resistance fighters, collecting their weapons, smearing the struggle and their reputation.

Such act runs contrary to the Cairo national dialogue talks and are breaking the promises made on the release of political detainees, he charged.

"We view this step with the utmost concern," Barhoum underlined, adding that such steps will only deepen the rift in the Palestinian arena.

A PA military court in Nablus on Sunday sentenced Mohammed Katnani, 33, to one and a half years in jail for owning weapons and establishing armed cells aimed at toppling the PA in Ramallah.

Katnani was arrested on 26 July last year after 18 months in hiding. He was subjected to brutal torture at the hands of PA security apparatus in Junaid prison in Nablus and denied family visits.

Any military court sentence needs to be endorsed by the Palestinian legislative council, which makes this court's verdict null and void.

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