Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesperson of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, claimed that the Fateh movement of President Mahmoud Abbas “has plans to drag the Gaza Strip into insecurity and chaos”, and that Fateh is also planning to topple the Hamas-led government in the coastal region. According to the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Information Center, Abu Zuhri told its reporter on Thursday evening that “Fateh and its aligned leftist factions are behind plans to spread chaos in Gaza”.
Abu Zuhri added that Hamas insists on restoring national unity, yet “some groups and factions have tried to infiltrate the Youth Movement’s protests for national unity in order to create tension and chaos, and to conduct incitement against Hamas.
The Hamas-controlled security forces recently attacked nonviolent protests conducted by the Youth Movement demanding unity and an end to the internal divisions.
Abu Zuhri stated that “former members of the Security Forces in Gaza, affiliated with Fateh movement, and a number of leftist groups infiltrated the protests and chanted against Hamas and its government”.
He also claimed that “the infiltrators tried to create tension and took pictures of the security forces while trying to enforce law and order”, and that the claimed infiltrators were planning to use these pictures “to distort facts and claim that Hamas is trying to kill the residents and attack their nonviolent protests”.
“The issue did not stop here, our security forces received intelligence information regarding some groups planning to use the anticipated visit of Abbas to Gaza, in order to spread chaos”, Abu Zuhri said, “They are planning to use the crowds to challenge the Hamas-led government and create tension”.
He called on the security forces to be firm in acting against any groups that “try to cause chaos and insecurity”, adding that these groups “have nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to visit the Gaza Strip for the first time since deadly clashes took place between Hamas and Fateh gunmen and security forces in 2007 and parts of 2008.
