Bomb-making factory found in West Bank

Fatah-led Palestinian security officials claim that they have discovered "a bomb-making factory" in the occupied West Bank, belonging to Hamas. "Security forces found a bomb-making factory inside a mosque in Qalqiliya," an interior ministry statement said Sunday. "Many of the bombs were ready to use and many of them were of industrial grade," read the statement. A senior security official told AFP that they had arrested 'many' people for questioning about the factory. The latest arrests are likely to increase tensions between the two rival factions who failed to reach an agreement over a reconciliation government earlier this month. The two Palestinian factions have been at odds since Hamas came to power after winning the democratic election in 2006. Differences between the two factions climaxed in June 2007 when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a bid to "foil a coupe plot by some Fatah elements." Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas, in response dismissed the Hamas government of Ismail Haniya and formed a parallel cabinet in Ramallah.