Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasHadas Parush/Flash 90

Hamas on Wednesday continued its attack on the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas.

The PA is trying, through economic pressure, to cause Hamas to relinquish its control over Gaza and hand it over to the PA.

The official Hamas newspaper Palestine on Wednesday published an article by Raafat Mara, who wrote that "Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas deserves to be called the murderer of children."

Mara accused Abbas of the deaths of four children and babies in Gaza due to lack of medication and for refusing to refer them to treatment in hospitals outside Gaza.

These measures, he claimed, are in addition to other punitive measures by the PA, including cuts in the salaries of public sector employees in Gaza, the dismissal of other workers, the cessation of funding for the operation of the power plant, the cessation of the payments of allowances of released terrorist prisoners, and more.

Abbas is trying to punish Hamas and force it to give up its political demands, Mara said, adding that Abbas is striving to bring Gaza to the brink of an explosion and that Israel will be the only beneficiary of that.

He then added that while Palestinian Arab children are dying in Gaza because of a lack of medication, Abbas and his family enjoy a well-off life, are engaged in commerce and investments and taking part in parties.

On Tuesday, Hamas accused both the PA and Israel of refusing to grant documents to Gazans in need of permission to seek medical treatment outside the coastal enclave.

A spokesman for the PA health ministry denied, however, there had been any change in policy regarding such health documents.

Abbas's Fatah faction and Hamas have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza in a bloody coup.

Fatah has upped its rhetoric against Hamas in recent weeks, after finally acknowledging that it has no control over Gaza.

A unity government between Hamas and Fatah collapsed in 2015 when Abbas decided to dissolve it amid a deepening rift between the sides.

Since the unity government was dissolved, Hamas and Fatah have held several rounds of reconciliation talks in Doha, Qatar – but with no success.