Hamas, Fatah trade accusations over Gaza bombings
Fatah has accused Hamas of being behind a series of bombings targeting Fatah leaders in Gaza, while Hamas has accused former Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan of perpetrating the attacks.
Although Fatah was preparing to hold the 10th anniversary memorial for the death of President Yasser Arafat on Nov. 11 in the Gaza Strip, developments in the past few days have pushed Gaza officials to cancel the ceremony.
Fatah official Zakaria al-Agha said during a news conference in Gaza on Nov. 9, attended by Al-Monitor, that the reason behind the ceremony’s cancelation was the series of bombings that targeted a number of Fatah leaders in Gaza on Nov. 7. Gaza’s security apparatus informed Fatah that it could not secure the ceremony and protect the participants, which contradicted Hamas’ previous positions that it would not stand in the way of Arafat’s memorial.
However, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zeid announced at a news conference on the evening of Nov. 9 that canceling the ceremony was an internal Fatah decision and Hamas had nothing to do with it. Abu Zeid asked not to attribute Fatah’s internal crises to Hamas and not to involve the movement in Fatah’s organizational issues.
Eyad al-Bozum, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, “The reason behind the security apparatus not securing Fatah’s ceremony is attributed to the highly tense public opinion, the exchange of accusations following the latest bombings, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah’s lack of communication with the security apparatus in Gaza, in addition to the fact that the ministry has not been given budgets and its employees’ salaries have not been paid.”
