‘Abbas trying to destroy unity deal’
9 Sep 2014 12:19 AM GMT
In a sharply worded attack on Hamas, Abbas on Saturday threatened to break off the unity agreement over the group’s de facto control of the Gaza Strip.
But Abbas’s words sparked an angry response from Hamas, with spokesman Fawzi Barhum accusing him in turn of trying ‘to destroy the reconciliation and play into the hands of the Americans and the Israelis.’
Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, ousting forces loyal to Abbas and sparking a bitter and bloody split with his Fatah movement.
The Fatah movement continued for years until the two sides signed a reconciliation deal in April.
The deal led to the formation of a government of national consensus, which took office on 2 June, following which Gaza’s Hamas government formally stepped down.
The spat erupted just two weeks after the conclusion of a major 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
But Abbas’s words sparked an angry response from Hamas, with spokesman Fawzi Barhum accusing him in turn of trying ‘to destroy the reconciliation and play into the hands of the Americans and the Israelis.’
Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, ousting forces loyal to Abbas and sparking a bitter and bloody split with his Fatah movement.
The Fatah movement continued for years until the two sides signed a reconciliation deal in April.
The deal led to the formation of a government of national consensus, which took office on 2 June, following which Gaza’s Hamas government formally stepped down.
The spat erupted just two weeks after the conclusion of a major 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
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