Reported: 10:42 AM - Jan/23/09

(IsraelNN.com) Israel made a "big mistake" by ending Operation Cast Lead without bringing down the Hamas regime in Gaza, according to a Palestinian Authority (PA) official in Ramallah quoted by the Jerusalem Post on Friday. The official added, "The fact that Hamas is still in power is bad for all."

While Hamas and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction talk reconciliation, both sides are taking harsh measures against each other. The PA has arrested a number of Hamas members in Judea and Samaria while accusing Hamas of killing and wounding Fatah members in Gaza. Hamas sources say that some detainees being held in PA security installations have had been "brutally tortured" by their interrogators