Israel says it is sending dozens of Fatah fighters to the West Bank after they fled the Gaza Strip, because the Palestinian fighters face danger if they go back.

Monday’s announcement marks a reversal of a previous decision to have them returned to Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had ordered the nearly 200 fighters who fled a Hamas raid to return to Gaza from Israel, insisting that his forces must retain a presence in Gaza.

The first group of 32 were sent back to Gaza on Sunday. Hamas detained them upon arrival.

Israel’s Defense Ministry says it halted the return of the Fatah men when it discovered “that their lives were in immediate danger.”