The Hamas Movement on Thursday warned of the repercussions of escalating the campaign of arrests in lines of its cadres and supporters in the West Bank at the hands of PA security apparatuses loyal to PA chief Mahmoud Abbas.

Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a press statement that the PA security elements last night rounded up 44 Palestinians from the Nablus city alone. He charged that the arrests focused on academicians and students and included one of the Hamas political leaders Dr. Mohammed Ghazal.

The new wave of arrests is a "serious escalation" against Hamas, Abu Zuhri said, warning of the consequences of such practice that fell in line with security coordination with the Israeli occupation under the supervision of the American General Keith Dayton, which is carried out in a bid to liquidate Hamas in the West Bank.

He urged all PLO factions to ponder those arrests, which included political leaders, while they had boisterously objected when Hamas detained one of Fatah leaders for only two hours and now they are tight-lipped towards the liquidation of an entire movement.

The spokesman said that Hamas was following up events on the ground and would adopt whatever decisions necessary to protect its cadres and institutions in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Information Center