Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas had strong words against Hamas as he visited in a Ramallah hospital the Fatah spokesman in Gaza, who was beaten by Hamas members and seriously injured.
"Hamas, which carried out a coup in Gaza, will enter the trash can of history. The Palestinian people will not forgive Hamas for its actions," he declared.
Earlier this week, Abbas’ Fatah movement accused Hamas of beating up Atef Abu Seif, the spokesman for Fatah in Gaza and a member of its central committee.
Iyad al-Bozum, spokesman for the Hamas-run “interior ministry” in Gaza, condemned the incident, telling AFP "the police are investigating the attack".
The attack on Abu Seif came amid demonstrations in Gaza against rising prices. Hamas’ security forces responded by violently breaking up gatherings, with dozens of journalists, rights workers and others arrested.
PA officials criticized Hamas over the suppression of the protests, claiming the protests were a direct result of the group’s decision to unlawfully levy taxes and fees on residents of Gaza Strip in a way that worsened the socio-economic situation in the coastal enclave.
Mahmoud al-Zak, a member of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) and head of the National Action Committee in Gaza, called on Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza following the violent protests.
Hamas’ security forces have responded by violently breaking up gatherings, with dozens of journalists, rights workers and others arrested.
Hamas has been ruling Gaza since 2007, when it overtook the coastal enclave from Fatah, which is headed by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in a bloody coup.
Since then, the two groups have been embroiled in a bitter rivalry. The two organizations signed a reconciliation deal in October of 2017, under which the PA was to have resumed full control of Gaza by December of that year.
That deadline, however, was initially put back by 10 days, had later reportedly hit “obstacles”, and has never been implemented.