PA: We uncovered Hamas weapons cache, money

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Palestine Press Agency reports that PA security forces uncovered a cache of weapons in Ramallah that belonged to Hamas.
The weapons included automatic weapons and RPGs.
It appears that the weapons were meant for targeting the Palestinian Authority, not Israel. It is especially significant that they were being stored in Ramallah itself, which is about the most pro-Fatah spot in the territories.
The discovery angered the PA leadership, which has been trying in fits and starts to negotiate a unification agreement with Hamas. A meeting between the parties that was meant to be in Damascus this week was canceled, but the PA denied that it had anything to do with Hamas. Instead, they claimed that they had a dispute with Syria and they wanted to move the venue.

The Palestinian Authority Wednesday uncovered an arms cache it claimed belonged to the Hamas' military wing. The Authority also arrested more than 10 Hamas members from the Nablus area who were raising funds from overseas sources and acquiring means of warfare.

The Authority reported that the Palestinian Preventive Security Service exposed a large cache of weapons and hundreds of thousands of shekels in Marda village in the West Bank. The stash also contained discs with instructions on producing rockets and explosives.
A Palestinian security source said that the Preventive Security Service detected the cache after the arrest of a village member affiliated with Hamas' military wing.

The source added that the cache contained NIS 600,000 (about $163,000), a number of guns, ammunition, night vision binoculars and a special sniper M-16 rifle.

Hamas cell uncovered in Nablus

Meanwhile, a senior Palestinian security source in Ramallah told Ynet that a Hamas cell was exposed in Nablus. The cell members were raising money from overseas sources and acquiring means of warfare and explosives.

The source added that more than 10 people from Nablus and the surrounding villages were arrested on suspicion of being involved with the cell.

Last weekend, the Palestinians handed over to the IDF 17 demolition charges in different sizes that were seized in the Tulkarem area.

A senior IDF officer said that military activities in accordance with the Palestinian security apparatus were leading to "a great deal of calm". However, it is evident that Hezbollah and Hamas' leadership overseas were trying to ignite the area and commit terror attacks originating from the West Bank.

This, the source said, was because Hezbollah was reluctant to kindle the southern zone of Lebanon and Hamas was as reluctant to stir another conflict in the Gaza Strip; therefore, they view the West Bank as a legitimate "play ground."

via ynetnews.com
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