Hamas Official Calls to Dismantle Palestinian Unity Government
JERUSALEM (Worthy News)– Senior Hamas official called Sunday to dismantle the Palestinian unity government led by Fatah and Hamas and to set up a new government in its place, citing the Palestinian leadership’s failure to advance the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip following this year’s summer war between the Islamist group and Israel, the Times of Israel reported.
“We are calling for an alternate national unity government which will fulfill its obligations to the Palestinian people,” Ismail Radwan said, the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper reported.
Radwan noted that the unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah, which was signed in Cairo on June 2, states that presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections must be called within six months of the coalition taking form.
Tensions between Hamas and Fatah soared after at least 10 explosions rocked the Gaza Strip earlier this month in an apparent attack against houses and cars belonging to senior Fatah members. No casualties were reported in the bombings, and Hamas denied responsibility for the attacks, but Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement said it held the Islamist group accountable. Hamas also forced the cancellation of a planned event last week to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Abbas’s predecessor, Yasser Arafat. — [wp_colorbox_media url=”http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-official-calls-to-dismantle-palestinian-unity-government/” type=”iframe” hyperlink=”Source”]