A commentary in Jordan’s Al Rai said Wednesday that Hamas was indirectly and tacitly responsible for the rise of Islamic extremist groups in the Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza.
The mass-circulation daily accused Hamas of laying the ground for the groups now threatening Palestinian society, and added that the group was believed to be responsible for the kidnappings of foreign aid workers and journalists, including British Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Alan Johnston.
It noted there were Palestinian government officials who claim to know who kidnapped the journalist and where he was being held, yet nothing was being done to secure his release.
The paper, partially owned by the government, argued it was too risky to assume the forces that took the law into their own hands were "strategic substitutes" for Hamas.
"Such assumptions will bring ruin ... damaging the image of the society living under occupation," it stressed.
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