RAMALLAH, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian security forces of President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday arrested 13 Hamas supporters across the West Bank in what Hamas said part of a 16-month-old crackdown on the movement there.

    The movement said in a statement sent to reporters that 13 Hamas supporters, including university students, and activists were arrested in the cities of Tulkarem, Hebron, Ramallah and Qalqilia.

    The security forces, loyal to President Abbas' Fatah movement, have been cracking down on Hamas after the Islamic movement drove out pro-Abbas forces and took over control of the Gaza Strip in a week-long deadly fighting last year.

    Fatah, for its part, claims that Hamas also clamps down against its supporters, members and institutions in the Gaza Strip.

    Last week, Hamas security forces arrested three local journalists affiliated to Fatah in central Gaza Strip.

    The arrests came as Egypt has been working to launch an inter-Palestinian reconciliation dialogue designed to mend the fences between the two movements.

    Hamas leaders said the arrests in West Bank aimed at thwarting the expected dialogue.