The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Monday denied reports saying the Hamas militants have been arrested in connection with recent attacks against Israelis in the West Bank, the Palestinian forces spokesman said, Xinhua reported.
"I don't confirm these news and we don't have any information indicting that those persons were detained," Adanan Damiri said.
On Tuesday, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that the Palestinian forces arrested two Hamas operatives who fired at an Israeli car near Ramallah city and wounded a couple on Sept. 1.
And on Aug. 31, four Jewish settlers were killed when their car came under fire near Hebron city. The Hamas, the PNA's rival which holds sway in Gaza, claimed responsibility for the two shootings.
Damiri said the Palestinian forces seized the vehicle that the Hamas gunmen used in Hebron attack and "there are some suspects who are being chased down."
Hamas carried out the attacks, the deadliest in West Bank in four years, on the eve of the launch of the direct peace negotiations between Israel and the PNA in Washington.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Hamas warned the PNA against continuing cracking down on its members and operatives in the occupied West Bank. "Our patience is running out," Ezz El-Deen al- Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
Damiri rejected Hamas' threats, saying they "don't terrify the PNA." He accused Hamas of restraining from attacking Israel from the Gaza Strip while "carrying out works to sabotage the efforts of the PNA" in the West Bank.
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