http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/697914.html
Last update - 23:04 23/03/2006 <http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/images/0.gif> <http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/images/0.gif> <http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/images/0.gif> <http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/images/0.gif> Hamas says it won't arrest militants who attack Israel <http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/images/0.gif> By Reuters <http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/images/0.gif> Incoming Palestinian interior minister Said Seyam, chosen by Hamas to oversee three security services, said on Thursday he will not order the arrest of militants carrying out attacks against Israel. "The day will never come when any Palestinian would be arrested because of his political affiliation or because of resisting the occupation," Seyam told Reuters in an interview. "The file of political detention must be closed." Hamas, whose charter officially calls for Israel's destruction, swept to victory in a Jan. 25 election and plans to present its cabinet line-up to a Hamas-dominated parliament for a vote next week. The militant group has selected Hamas loyalists like Seyam to fill almost all of the 24-member cabinet after Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and other moderate parties refused to join a coalition with Hamas. Hamas's failure to convince rival factions to join the government could make it harder for it to rule and could cement U.S. and Israeli efforts to isolate the group. As well as vowing not to arrest militants for carrying out attacks against Israel, Seyam said Hamas would try to coordinate militants' operations. "Talks with the factions in the future will focus on the mechanisms, the shape and the timing (of any attacks)," he said. "But the right to defend our people and to confront the aggression is granted and is legitimate." Seyam said he had begun talks with Palestinian security chiefs in the hope of averting fighting within the security services. A majority of the 20,000-plus security personnel, who will answer to Seyam, are Fatah members. Seyam said maintaining law and order would be a top priority. There were several hundred murders in Gaza and the West Bank last year, according to human rights groups. Seyam said his ministry would continue to coordinate day-to-day security issues, like the number of permits given to Palestinian workers, with Israeli authorities. But Seyam said he did not plan to meet Israelis himself. "Regarding daily issues, they will not be changed, except in the way that serves the interest of our people," he said. Israel and the United States have said they will not have any contact with Hamas members and have urged donors to cut off direct funding to the government unless it renounces violence, abides by interim peace deals and recognises the Jewish state. "Saeed Seyam did not come to the government to revive any security cooperation or to protect the occupation and their settlers. I came to protect our people and their fighters, to protect their trees, their properties and their capabilities," Seyam said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
