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Israel closes Hamas facilities
08/07/2008 14:05 - (SA)
Ramallah - The Israeli army shut down a shopping centre on Tuesday that houses more than 70 stores in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, as it pressed on with a campaign against Hamas's civil and social infrastructure in the West Bank.
The chairperson of the board of directors of the multiple-storey mall is Nablus Mayor Adli Yaish, who has links with Hamas and is currently imprisoned in Israel, residents said.
The Israeli military also shut down another five Hamas institutions in the northern West Bank city, including a support group for militants jailed in Israel, an Islamic trade unions organisation, a medical society and two aid organisations in the Nablus refugee camps of Askar and Balata.
On Monday, Israel had already closed down an Islamic girls school, a sports club, a clinic and a mosque run by Hamas.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak earlier signed an order declaring that 36 organisations operating around the world and allegedly affiliated with Hamas are banned in Israel and the occupied territories under its control.
The Israeli military has since begun shutting down branches of the organisations.
Israel believes that Hamas-run civil and social organisations are a key source of funding for the Islamic movement's military wing.
Closed for five years
A large Israeli army unit raided the Nablus Mall and the five other charitable organisations early on Tuesday and left notices to the owners regarding the closure order, residents said.
It said the mall would be closed for five years starting the middle of August, while the charitable organisations will be closed for two years. The army seized computers and files from the places.
Palestinian officials expressed concern that the closing of the Nablus shopping centre would harm families in the city whose income depended on the opening of the centre's stores.
An Israeli army force also raided Ramallah's twin city al-Bireh municipality early on Tuesday and seized files and other documents after ransacking some of the offices.
Employees held a sit-in protest against the Israeli act outside the municipal building. Al-Bireh city council is run by Hamas. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
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