Hamas arrests activists who held Zoom video conference with Israelis
Terror group accuses group of 'holding a normalisation activity with the Israeli occupation'
Hamas-run security forces have arrested several peace activists in the Gaza Strip on treason charges after they took part in a web conference with Israeli activists, officials said.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said the activists are accused of “holding a normalisation activity with the Israeli occupation”.
“Holding any activity or contact with the Israeli occupation under any cover is a crime punishable by law and a betrayal for the people and their sacrifices,” it said in a statement.
Hamas, which seized Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, does not recognise Israel and has carried out scores of attacks against Israelis over the last few decades.Israel, the US and the EU view Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Hamas has been holding indirect talks with Israel through Egyptian, Qatari and UN mediators for months. The negotiations are aimed at easing an Israeli and Egyptian blockade imposed on Gaza after Hamas took power, in exchange for calm along the frontier.
The activists held a nearly two-hour meeting on Monday over Zoom, an online conferencing service, discussing issues of common interest, including the coronavirus pandemic.
The meeting was advertised on a Facebook event page and a recording was posted online by Israeli participants, prompting an outpouring of Palestinian condemnation against the Gaza activists on social media.
The family of Rami Aman, the main organiser, said he answered a summons from the security service early on Thursday and they have not heard from him since.
Hamas praised the arrests.
“The relationship with the Zionist occupation is only a continuing fight until it is forced out of all Palestinian lands,” spokesman Hazem Qassem said.
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