Abbas's security forces raid Hamas bomb factory

Hebron: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces raided a Hamas bomb factory and arrested 11 members of the group in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, a senior police officer said on Saturday.

The raid was part of a law-and-order drive pursued by Abbas in the West Bank since he broke with Hamas over its seizure of the Gaza Strip last year and revived peacemaking with Israel.

Ramadan Awad, chief of the Palestinian Authority police in Hebron, said more than 100 kilogrammes of explosives were seized along with ammunition and homemade firearms.

Use

"The factory was preparing bombs which would have been used against us and against the will of the Palestinians," he said. A Hamas official in Hebron said the targeted building had no links to the group.

Abbas has also deployed Palestinian security forces in other major West Bank cities like Nablus and Jenin.