Hamas 'preventing strikes' against Israel

The Palestinian Hamas government in Gaza has been operating a force over the past few months whose sole task is to prevent the firing of rockets into Israel, reports Israeli daily Haaretz. Hamas, which is also known for a more aggressive stance against Israel, is now "using its authority to foil the firing efforts of cells from other organisations such as the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC)" said the left-leaning newspaper. The new force is allegedly under the direct command of its founder, Hamas interior minister Fathi Hammad, who in the past has been considered an extremist in regard to Israel. According to a Gaza source, the force of some 300 men operates, "day and night, 24 hours, everywhere in the Strip, particularly near the borders with Israel". The soldiers wear black uniforms and make their way around on motorcycles and four-wheel drive vehicles. According to a Hamas source, the force has a green light to shoot activists who resist arrest or fire at the Hamas soldiers. Anyone arrested can expect to spend at least a couple of months in prison, the source said. The rockets and/or mortars that are found are confiscated and transfered to Hamas. The force has arrested many members of smaller Palestinian radical groups, but there have also been arrests of members of the Islamic Jihad and PRC, which are considered the leading opposition groups in Gaza. The Islamic Jihad members are almost always released on the spot, however, due to understandings reach between the two groups, the source said. The force apparently won't act if Israel is the one who strikes first (and the Israeli assassination of Zuhair Al-Qaisi of the PRC in March was deemed such a provocation ). But during calm times, the force has blocked more than a few rocket and mortar strikes on the south.