Hamas, PFLP trade accusations over tax enforcement

[freepalestine]

Hamas, PFLP trade accusations over tax enforcement


Hamas, PFLP trade accusations over tax enforcement
Published yesterday (updated) 29/04/2010 10:17




Gaza - Ma'an - Hamas officials denied PFLP accusations that de facto government forces had arrested dozens of the party's leaders in Khan Younis, throwing a counter-punch and accusing the leftists of inciting violence and threatening the stability of Gaza.

PFLP leader Kayed Al-Ghoul made the accusation on Wednesday, saying de facto government police had raided the party's headquarters and detained two, taking the ID of a third in the wake of a party statement accusing Hamas of unfairly and harshly implementing a series of tax laws.

A statement from Hamas said both the tax accusations and those of arrests were "inciting rumors distributed by the PFLP to hit the state of stability and security in Gaza."

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum asked why the party was launching attacks on Hamas, when its leaders in the West Bank "are being arrested and summoned on for interrogation by the Fatah security departments, dozens of its affiliates are arrested, prohibited from the right to resistance and carrying out the ceremony of its anniversary."

Barhoum denied accusations that PFLP members had been detained, saying party members along with its leaders are "granted full freedom of speech in Gaza and is carrying all of its activities and organizing its occasions."

He accused the party of "taking advantage of the wide freedoms" they were granted, but use those freedoms to "call for disturbances" in the coastal enclave.

[freepalestine]

PFLP: Hamas government detaining affiliates
Published yesterday (updated) 29/04/2010 17:20




Gaza – Ma’an – Kayed Al-Ghoul, a leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said de facto government security forces raided PFLP headquarters in Khan Younis and detained two members and took the ID of the third.

Al-Ghoul told Ma’an that the raid came because of a statement issued by the PFLP on Tuesday, which referenced taxes in Gaza. He said the situation was unacceptable as no one can forbid a political movement from reflecting its opinion and ideas.

He added that the PFLP will continue defending the Palestinian public interest, and called on the de facto government to stop such measures that "distort Palestinian history and the national struggle."

Al-Ghoul said security forces ultimately released the detainees on Wednesday morning. He said these measures by the de facto security services “do not serve the national reconciliation and increase the anger.”

[freepalestine]

Hamas tax laws trigger leftist protests in Gaza


Hamas tax laws trigger leftist protests in Gaza
Published today (updated) 29/04/2010 17:20



Gaza – Ma'an – The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) called on Gaza residents and particularly the poor to attend a series of peaceful rallies demanding change to the recent tax laws enforced by the Hamas government.

Marking a further rise in tensions over the issue and a clear alignment of leftist parties against what Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) officials called "harsh" means of tax collection and an arbitrary mandate for collection, the protests are expected to take place Friday.

A DFLP statement expressed concern over draconian tax laws during a time of poverty and severe unemployment in the Strip, calling the measures out of step with the needs of Palestinians. Moreover, the statement said, de facto government officials had allowed severe price increases to cripple families without alternatives to purchasing inflated-rate goods.

PFLP leaders said Hamas officials detained two of their members following the release of a statement outlining the unfair tax collection mechanisms targeting small-business owners including taxi drivers and falafel stands. The statement said strange items were taxed, like measuring scales at fruit markets, and said the homes of some Gaza residents living or traveling abroad were seized and handed over to de facto government security servicemen.