As soon as the latest war with Israel ended on Aug. 26, a new confrontation, although an unarmed one, erupted between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A state of tension has started to prevail in the Palestinian arena between Hamas and Fatah over the Palestinian response during the Israeli aggression in Gaza.

On Aug. 29, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shocked local circles by blaming Hamas for the prolonged Israeli war on Gaza, since they had insisted on discussing the demands before the cease-fire and said that the Palestinian people were not willing to undergo a massacre every two years.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, a senior Hamas official said that the movement “has taken an internal decision not to respond to any comments that may cause tension in the Palestinian arena, including those attributed to Abbas.” The official renewed his refusal “to be dragged into side battles with any of the national parties, because we have significant milestones in the post-war phase and they all need a total internal consensus. Any setback in the unified Palestinian position implies further suffering to our people in Gaza, which we do not desire at all.”

But the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated, with Palestinian security apparatuses summoning Hamas members who were participating in festivals celebrating the end of the Gaza war in the cities of Ramallah and Tulkarm, on the evening of Aug. 30.