Hit hard in West Bank, Hamas vows comeback

updated 3:45 p.m. ET June 19, 2007

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Hamas leaders in the West Bank have been driven underground by a Fatah campaign of kidnappings and arrests, but the Islamic militants warn they’ll eventually come out of hiding to try to destabilize the rule of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with car bombings and assassinations.

Hamas is too weak now for a frontal assault on Fatah in the West Bank, but Iranian funding for Hamas, Abbas’ political weakness and Fatah infighting could one day change the balance, Fatah leaders, Hamas militants and Israeli analysts say.

Security forces allied with Abbas say they’re determined to snuff out Hamas in the West Bank. The president has declared the Hamas militias illegal, and his security chiefs said they wouldn’t just go after Hamas’ weapons, but also its money.

“The only way to deal with Hamas ... is by dismantling every single military cell in the West Bank, and that’s what the security apparatus is doing now,” said Kamal Abu Rob, a Fatah lawmaker.

The best insurance against a Hamas takeover might come from elsewhere: Israel’s relentless pursuit of Hamas has kept the militants on the defensive and the resumption of foreign aid to the West Bank, after a 15-month boycott, could swing public opinion strongly in Abbas’ favor.

Hamas leaders are keeping their heads down. In the past week, some 120 Hamas activists have been arrested by security forces or kidnapped by a violent Fatah offshoot.

Lawmakers a target
Gunmen have stormed the parliament building in Ramallah, burned offices of Hamas lawmakers in Nablus and warned some government employees with Hamas ties not to return to work. One Hamas member has been killed and another seriously wounded. Several others have been shot in the legs.

Khouloud al-Masri, a Hamas member of the Nablus municipal council, was forced from her office Tuesday. She said Fatah gunmen told her she wouldn’t be able to return the next day. Al-Masri said her husband is in hiding and their five children are with grandparents.

In response, Hamas has made threats. “They (Fatah leaders) think Hamas is weak in the West Bank, just as they thought Hamas was in Gaza,” said Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas hard-liner in Gaza. “The West Bank may surprise the world with what they don’t expect, and it’s best for them not to fall into this trap.”

Hamas’ military strength in the West Bank is difficult to assess. Some Israeli analysts say only a few dozen gunmen escaped arrest by Israel.

Planning a comeback?
But a top Palestinian security official in Ramallah said Hamas has recruited hundreds who are organized in sleeper cells, outfitted with guns and uniforms, and ready to move. Hamas, which carried out dozens of suicide bombings in Israel in recent years, can also draw on explosives experts and runs secret bomb labs, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the rules of his security service.

A senior Hamas militant leader said the group has recruited about 4,000 gunmen in Nablus and Hebron, and has thousands of weapons. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is wanted by Israel.

He said that when the signal comes to act, Hamas would carry out car bombs and try to assassinate Fatah leaders to destabilize the West Bank. On Tuesday, civilian cars were banned from security headquarters in the territory amid concerns about car bombs.

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

NYT: 'Law and order' in the West Bank Powerful cleric says Iran in crisis   Diplomats: Iran advancing nuke program Jerusalem fears ultra-Orthodox riots Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: