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Fatah, Hamas battle for control of mosques

Fatah is tightly controlling mosques in the West Bank, claiming to shield them from political interference, but its adversaries accuse it of using mosques for its own political purposes.
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh speaks about  Israel's seizure of a Gaza-bound aid ship, during Friday prayers at al-Omari mosque in Gaza City June 4, 2010. Israeli marines stormed the Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday and at least nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council.   REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2ER1A

RAMALLAH, West Bank — The mosques in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are still an arena of political conflict between the governments of those areas and religious parties of various orientations.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) became aware of the mosques’ political importance after Hamas’ victory in the 2006 legislative elections. Back then, the mosques were used to disseminate political ideas. The authorities sought to terminate that phenomenon after the split in 2007.

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