After the Hamas movement presented a document that was described as a new initiative to achieve internal Palestinian unity, the rival Fatah movement rejected it and said that Hamas is trying to subdue popular protests for change in the Gaza Strip. The initiative was presented by Hamas during a meeting with several factions. It called for forming a unified leadership to run the Palestinian affairs until the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) is reformed so that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad can join it.
The Fatah movement in Gaza boycotted the meeting, while a number of leaders of other factions who attended the meeting said that it led to no results.
Fawzi Barhoum, spokesperson of the Hamas movement, said that Hamas wants to restore unity, but Fatah expressed doubts regarding the intentions of the meetings.
Fatah spokesperson in the West Bank, Ahmad Assaf, said that the issue needs decisive decisions not initiatives that follow four years of internal divisions.
Meanwhile, the Hamas movement in Gaza announced a limited restructuring of its government. In 2007, and following gun battles between Fatah and Hamas gunmen in Gaza, President Abbas dismissed the government and formed an interim one in the West Bank.
Enjoying an elected overwhelming majority at the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Hamas movement rejected the decision of Abbas and regarded it as illegal.
Fatah representative Assaf, said that Abbas had to dismiss the government after what he called “the coup that was conducted by Hamas,” adding that the Hamas led government in Gaza is illegitimate.
But Hamas countered that Abbas is not a legitimate president as his term in office expired in 2010. Last month, Abbas said that new elections cannot be held should Hamas refuse to hold the ballots in the Gaza Strip.
In Gaza, several Palestinian factions refused the Hamas call to join the Government that was modified by the movement in Gaza, and was approved by the legislators there.
