Hamas women protest in West Bank

Protesters said Mr Abbas was jailing his own people

Some 200 women supporters of Hamas have marched in the West Bank to demand the release of Hamas members being held in jails run by the Palestinian Authority.

At least one woman was detained during the rally in Ramallah, the headquarters of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Abbas's Fatah faction has been confined to the West Bank since Hamas seized Gaza in June, splitting Palestinian territories in two.

Fatah security forces have arrested a number of Hamas loyalists since then.

"We are one Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank," protesters chanted during the rally in Ramallah on Saturday.

"[Mr] Abbas is helping the Israelis by jailing his own people," they said.

A senior security official in Ramallah was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying that fewer than 100 Hamas supporters were being held in West Bank jails, but Hamas officials say the number is higher.

Palestinian human rights groups have said that some Hamas members were beaten during the recent arrests.

For its part, Hamas security forces in Gaza have also cracked down on the secular Fatah faction, detaining a number of its supporters.

Human rights groups have criticised Hamas for beating some Fatah activists and breaking up their demonstrations in Gaza.