By Atef Sa'ad NABLUS, West Bank, July 7 (Reuters) - Israel raided a Palestinian religious affairs office on Monday and ordered a school, a clinic and a mosque shut for three years in the occupied West Bank on suspicion they were linked to Hamas. An Israeli military official said the raid in the city of Nablus was aimed against "the so-called charitable organisations", Israel's term for groups it says have links with the Islamist group. Hassan Hilali, director of the Palestinian Religious Affairs Ministry's office in the city, said "we found broken doors and cabinets overturned" and documents appeared to have been taken. Hilali said soldiers posted notices on the doors of the high school, mosque and clinic saying they would remain closed for three years because of their links with militant groups. Israel's Haaretz newspaper said the Israeli military was planning to step up a campaign against a Hamas-linked charitable network in the West Bank. Hamas regards these organisations as legitimate providers of services and says they have nothing to do with the group's fight against Israel. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said in Gaza the Israeli raid was a crime. "We call upon all concerned parties to compel the Occupation to stop its aggression," he said, using a Hamas term for Israel. The Israeli military has won legal approval to tighten its sanctions against Hamas in the West Bank to try to prevent the group from gaining popularity at the expense of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas, which opposes Abbas's peace negotiations with Israel, seized the Gaza Strip from his Fatah faction in fighting a year ago. Last month, Hamas and Israel agreed to an Egyptian-brokered truce in the Gaza Strip. (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Writing by Joseph Nasr in Jerusalem; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)
Palestinians sit on the road in front of Israeli troops during a protest just outside the West Bank village of Ni'lin calling for an end to the blockade of the village ...
