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Palestinian Force 17 Denies Cooperation with Hamas
Mahmoud Samara, commander of Force 17, Tuesday dismissed as "fallacy" the allegation that the personal bodyguard unit of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has cooperated with Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.
A US Newsweek report cited Israeli sources as saying that Force l7 has been cooperating with Hamas detonation experts to plant explosive devices around Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Force 17 came under heavy Israeli fire last week as Israel blamed the force for a series of ambushes and other attacks on Israelis during the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli clashes.
On Monday, Israel freed three of the five members of Force 17 captured last Saturday in Ramallah, a West Bank city under full Palestinian control.
Palestinian sources also said the Israeli troops entered an area in southern Gaza Strip Monday evening and stormed a Force 17 site, but nobody was injured. Israeli army did not confirm the report.
Moreover, a leading activist of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (holy war) was killed Monday in an Israeli missile attack in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian officials held Israeli army responsible for the assassination, saying that it was part of Israel's escalation.
In another development, Arafat called US Secretary of State Colin Powell Monday night on the situation in the Palestinian territories and efforts to revive the Middle East peace process. Powell also called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Monday night on the same issues.
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