Hamas arrests Israel spies in Gaza

The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas has placed five individuals under arrest in the Gaza Strip, suspecting them of ‘spying’ for Israel.

A Hamas security official said that the five were arrested during overnight crackdowns, the Associated Press reported.

The unnamed Hamas official went on to warn of a tough stance in dealing with those detained, saying, “We are not going to show any mercy to those involved in spying on our people.”

The suspects were arrested after they missed a two-months-long deadline to turn themselves in.

The issue of Israel spying on Palestinians is nothing new. An Israeli espionage network is functional in the occupied West Bank, taking orders from the security service Shin Bet.

Hamas, which won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 and was forced to limit its power to the Gaza Strip a year later, has been defending the coastal strip’s 1.5 million- strong populations against Israeli acts of aggression.

Israel placed Gaza under an all-out siege in mid-June 2007, reacting to Hamas’ accession to power, claiming that the siege was aimed at preventing alleged security hazards to the region by the resistance movement.

In late 2008, Israel launched an all-out war on Gaza, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians.