Hamas terrorists in Gaza
Hamas terrorists in GazaAbed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90

The Hamas-affiliated Al-Risala newspaper on Thursday blasted the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Fatah movement for opposing the Gaze ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

An article by Shima Marzuk raised four possible explanations for the PA's "fear" of the arrangement:

The Fatah movement is aware of the fact that the agreement undermines the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority, and therefore it has responded with hostility and has taken economic sanctions against the Gaza Strip.

Removing the siege on the Gaza Strip will strengthen Hamas and the other Palestinian Arab organizations, while weakening the power of the Fatah movement, which will be directly affected by the "occupation" while Hamas enjoys governmental independence.

The agreement will send a message to everyone that Hamas is the authority, and the U.S. administration may even recognize the movement as a representative of the "Palestinian people."

The PA wants to negotiate a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria instead of changing the current situation and wishes to lead a “popular intifada” that will shock the security forces of the “occupation” and force it to stop the “settlement”.

This policy is intended to ensure the continued existence of the Palestinian Authority after its status as sole representative of the "Palestinian people" has been harmed, opined Marzuk.

The article comes as Egypt continues to mediate talks on a long-term ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.

Senior Hamas officials recently claimed that negotiations have made significant progress, and that a ceasefire is expected to be reached following the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Earlier this week, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas reportedly expressed outrage that a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel was being formulated without his participation and said, “Over my dead body will there be a ceasefire and agreement for calm between the sides.”