Hamas forces seized the leaders of Fatah in Gaza early yesterday, Fatah officials said, upping the stakes in a week of tit-for-tat arrests between the bitter Palestinian rivals.
Hamas security officers seized around 15 senior Fatah members from their homes in the roundup, the Fatah officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear for their safety in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
The arrests came one day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the release of Hamas detainees, although it was not immediately clear if any had been released.
The men arrested yesterday included three Fatah-affiliated district governors and Abbas’ two highest Gaza representatives, the officials said.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri would not confirm the number or the identity of those arrested, but said the arrests were in response to Fatah’s seizures of “Hamas political leaders” in the West Bank.
Both Fatah and Hamas have periodically carried out arrest sweeps targeting rivals in the territories they control. Several of the men arrested by Hamas yesterday have been seized before.
The new Hamas crackdown was sparked by a July 25 explosion in Gaza that killed five Hamas members and a six-year-old girl. Hamas blamed Fatah for the blast and began rounding up Fatah supporters. Fatah denied the charge and launched its own crackdown targeting Hamas supporters.
Fatah said around 200 of its men had been seized in the past week. Fatah has arrested roughly the same number of Hamas members.
Abbas issued an order on Thursday to free the detainees, but the releases had not been confirmed.
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time. Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the fifth inning with a solo home run. That was soon followed by a three-run homer from Taiwanese captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) to put Taiwan ahead in the prestigious tournament of the world’s top 12 baseball teams. In addition to a superb performance from 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Lin, three more Taiwanese pitchers
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Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology
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