Hamas launches campaign against collaboration with Israel

A Hamas official said Monday that his movement has announced a campaign against spies and collaborators with Israel that will start in the Gaza Strip Tuesday. Islam Shahwan, a Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman, said the campaign promised amnesty for collaborators who surrender willingly. In its second part, the campaign involves public programs to raise awareness against aiding Israel with information, he said. In 2007, Hamas took over Gaza after routing security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of the rival Fatah movement. Since then, Hamas prides itself on "cleaning" the coastal enclave from Israel's eyes. But in subsequent waves of cross-border fighting with Israel, Israeli airplanes identified and hit several Hamas targets, including senior military and political leaders who used to move in disguise and secretly, such as Interior Minister Said Siam and Hamas' military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari. Hamas blames the collaborators for helping Israel allocating its bank of targets. During the eight-day clash between Hamas and Israel in November 2012, which was sparked after the killing of al- Jaabari, Hamas executed seven collaborators in the streets, some of them summarily, in addition to 14 others who were executed after complete trials over the past three years. The new campaign against spying is the second of its kind that Hamas launches. Shahwan said that in 2010, about 30 collaborators handed themselves over to his ministry.