The Palestinian Authority (PA) cabinet headed by Rami Hamdallah, which convened in Ramallah on Tuesday, called on Hamas to abandon its stance against unity and end its control over Gaza.
The cabinet also urged Hamas to refrain from negotiating Palestinian national principles in exchange for humanitarian aid at the expense of the Palestinian people and to transfer all the governmental powers in Gaza to the hands of the PA.
Hamdallah noted that the PA had not imposed any punitive measures against the Gaza Strip as had been reported.
Hamdallah explained that the measures are temporary and include the deduction of wages from some public sector employees. He added that the PA invested $96 million in Gaza in the month of July.
The announcement by the PA cabinet confirms in practice that no agreement has yet been reached in the reconciliation talks between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
Hamas and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas violently took over Gaza from Fatah in a bloody coup.
Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal last October, under which the PA was to have resumed full control of Gaza by December 1.
That deadline was initially put back by 10 days and had later reportedly hit “obstacles”.