Hamas reportedly bars PA employees from Gaza crossing

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Hamas-run security forces reportedly denied access to Ramallah-affiliated employees to the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday, the official Wafa news agency said.

"Hamas security forces denied entry to the employees and stopped them at a military checkpoint," Wafa quoted a source at the terminal as saying.

"Security forces asked the employees to sign an application and give their fingerprints but they refused," the source said.

According to the news agency, Hamas is holding goods-laden trucks at the crossing.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has yet to comment on the allegation.

Kerem Shalom is Gaza's only functioning commercial crossing.

On January 7, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) withdrew its employees from the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to protest what it described as Hamas crackdown on its members in the Palestinian territory.

Palestine’s political scene has remained deeply polarized since mid-2007, when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip after sweeping legislative elections one year earlier.

Fatah, which runs the Ramallah-based PA, has retained partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.