Hamas says “Israeli”spy cell in Ramallah busted

Hamas says it has dismantled an "Israeli" spy network, which served through the Ramallah-based administration of Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas.

"In recent arrests, the security services were able to dismantle several security cells that channeled dangerous but false information to Ramallah and then to the "Israeli" occupation," Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told reporters on Monday.

Haniyeh said that the Fatah cells were receiving funding and instructions from defense and political officials in Ramallah.

The Hamas leader charged that the cells were working to create a "target bank" in Gaza.

He vowed that the movement's security forces would continue their efforts to prevent these cells from "carrying out attacks and compromising the security of Gaza's residents".

Hamas won a landslide victory in the 2006 elections in Gaza. The movement took control of the strip in 2007 to "foil a coup plot" by some forces inside Fatah.

Abbas, in response dismissed the democratically-elected government of Haniya and formed a parallel cabinet in Ramallah.