Gaza Interior Ministry: Effort aimed at opening door for "repentance" for Palestinians who have been working for Israel.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPalestinian gunmen motorbikes GRAPHIC 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Suhaib Salem)
The Hamas government on Tuesday launched a campaign to persuade Palestinians “collaborating” with Israel to turn themselves in.Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip, said the campaign was aimed at “opening the door for repentance” for Palestinians who have been working for Israel.“This is a chance for all those who fell victims to the deception of Israeli security forces to return to their people,” he said during a press conference. He promised that Hamas would not reveal the identities of those who give themselves up and repent.Hamas set April 11 as the deadline for the so-called collaborators to hand themselves over to the Hamas authorities.“This campaign is an appeal to our people to be on alert so as to foil the enemy’s espionage schemes,” the spokesman said. “The battle with the enemy is a long one.”The Hamas campaign comes in the aftermath of the IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense against Gaza-launched rocket and missile attacks on the South last year.Hamas believes there are many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who tipped off Israel about the location of rocket launchers.Mohamed Lafi, a senior Hamas security commander, said Hamas has prepared a list with the names of Palestinians who will be arrested unless they turn themselves in before the deadline.
