Hamas Blames Fatah For Latest Violence

Representative of Hamas in Lebanon Osama Hamdan has categorically blamed PA chief Mahmoud Abbas for the unfortunate bloody incidents in Gaza and the West Bank on Sunday, adding that Abbas’ responsibility was based on field and political reasons.

He explained that the PA security apparatuses were practically under Abbas’ command, and under the PA bylaw, elements of the security apparatuses were banned from participating in any violent acts.

“If he (Abbas) was the one who issued orders for the elements to demonstrate and riot, then that is a violation of his mandate and a breach of the law. If he wasn’t the one spurring them to do so, then it would mean that he has no power over them, and therefore, the matter must be dealt with accordingly, and perpetrators must be held accountable”, Hamdan elaborated in an interview with the PIC.

The second reason, according to Hamdan, was a political reason where Abbas, under intensive American pressures, turned around the agreed-upon national harmony document that was unanimously agreed to be the basis of any future PA unity government, adding that Abbas declared the document as “invalid” for not meeting the American and European demands of recognizing the Hebrew state.

But he confirmed Hamas’ willingness to form the national coalition government based on “Palestinian conditions and not “external” conditions”, affirming that those putting “impossible” conditions on Hamas were indeed the ones responsible for not achieving any progress in this regard.

Reacting to threats made by Fatah leaders and militants to kill Hamas leaders and figures, Hamdan asserted “Everyone knows that Israel was the only party that targets Hamas figures and political leaders; so, are we now facing a group in Fatah which has accepted to be a tool in the hands of the Zionist enemy to achieve the mission?”, he questioned.

“I believe that it is our people’s right to know that the one behind those suspicious threats was a leader in Fatah in the West Bank searching for a role, and that he was the same person behind the torching of the PLC office in Ramallah few months ago in spite of being a high-ranking official in the PA”, Hamdan said.

Many believed that Hamdan was alluding to Zeyyad Abu Ain, Fatah leader in the West Bank.

He added that the “one that distributed that suspicious statement was a high-ranking security official who had a known role in surrendering the Jericho prison to the IOF months ago”.

He threw the ball in the court of the prudent figures in Fatah faction, saying “The suspicious statement was in hands of prudent leaders in that Palestinian faction, and therefore, the choice is theirs if they accept to surrender their organization to the hooligans, and turn Fatah, as a result, into a Movement that carries out assassinations against Palestinian leaders”.

In conclusion, Hamdan underlined that Palestinian demands to free the captured IOF serviceman Gilad Shalit were unchanged as no single Palestinian leader could announce that he wants Shalit be released for gratis.

“Our people want Palestinian captives, especially children and women, be freed in return for Shalit’s freedom, and Hamas was part of the Palestinian people and demands the same”, the Hamas figure underscored.

He accused the Israeli enemy of derailing efforts to end the impasse, and that certain parties in the Palestinian arena were encouraging the stubborn Israeli stand in order to deny captors of Shalit the national credit for any possible swapping of prisoners.