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Hamas Vows Crackdown On Collaborators With Israel

The Hamas government in Gaza has vowed to end the presence of Gazans who collaborate with Israel in 2013, while trying to repair its reputation in dealing with the accused, reports Adnan Abu Amer.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) and Mohammad Nazzal, a member of the Hamas leadership, speak to media after their meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Amman January 28, 2013.  REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3D30A
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The Palestinian Ministry of Interior in Gaza announced a few days ago that 2013 would witness the end of collaboration between some Palestinians and Israeli intelligence apparatuses. Although the move was welcomed by all citizens, it raised questions regarding the extent of the government’s seriousness and its ability to fulfill this pledge. Many in the Palestinian territories believe that Israel's readiness for a future war would be based on security information gathered by Palestinian agents — dubbed the “target bank” by the Israeli army.

This analysis deals with the collaboration that began after the Israeli army’s occupation of the remaining Palestinian territories in 1967. Israeli security agencies decided to recruit agents and create spy networks in the occupied territories to monitor the Palestinian resistance. The resistance had started recruiting, arming and training, and it had launched guerrilla operations. As a result, Israeli intelligence sought to prosecute and arrest its members by all possible means — the most dangerous being informants. Palestinians refer to informants as "spies, agents, traitors, fifth columns."

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