Jason Greenblatt
Jason GreenblattReuters

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, on Tuesday condemned the attack on the convoy of Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Rami Hamdallah.

“Gazans have been brought to the brink of collapse by Hamas, PIJ & other extremist groups. Attack on PA delegation opening water treatment plant is an attack on the welfare of the people of Gaza. Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured,” he tweeted.

An explosive device was detonated near Hamdallah’s convoy as it entered Gaza. The PA leader had visited the region to inaugurate a desalination plant established within the framework of reconciliation with Hamas. His convoy entered Gaza via the Erez crossing and was attacked a few minutes later.

Hamdallah was not hurt and his security guards quickly took him away from the scene.

Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, also condemned the attack.

“I condemn the attack on the convoy of Rami Hamdallah in Gaza and commend the PM’s leadership to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza and achieve reconciliation. Those responsible for today’s attack seek to undermine these efforts. They must not succeed,” he tweeted.

A statement from Gaza’s Hamas rulers condemned the attack on Hamdallah’s convoy, saying it was done by the "same hands" responsible for the assassination of senior Hamas terrorist Mazen Faqha, and the attempted assassination of another last year.

Hamas blamed the killing of Faqha on Israel.

The attempt on Hamdallah’s life underlined the continued tensions between Hamas and Fatah, which have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza in a bloody coup.

The two groups signed a reconciliation agreement in October, as part of which Hamas was to transfer power in Gaza by December 1. That deadline was initially put back by 10 days and then appeared to have been cancelled altogether after it reportedly hit “obstacles”.

Last month, Hamas denounced the Hamdallah government over its policy of "deceiving, creating tension and deliberately neglecting the needs of the residents of the Gaza Strip."