Abbas warns Hamas against potential pact with Israel
In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to impose punitive measures on the Gaza Strip if Hamas signs a truce agreement with Israel.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas continues to threaten severe consequences for Hamas if it pursues a truce with Israel that doesn't include the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Abbas said during closed talks Aug. 28 that he will not allow Israel and Hamas to sign a cease-fire agreement without the PA's approval, according to Israeli Channel 10.
Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the PLO's Executive Committee, warned during an Aug. 25 television interview on Al-Mayadeen that Hamas plans to sign the Egyptian-sponsored truce with Israel in the next two weeks. Erekat said leaders of a Palestinian delegation headed by Hamas — and excluding the PLO — will sign the pact. The PLO is an umbrella organization representing most Palestinian factions, but not Hamas, and has been considered the official negotiator on behalf of the Palestinians with Israel to resolve the conflict.
Egypt has tried for years to reconcile Abbas' Fatah political party, which leads the PA and administers the West Bank, with its rival Hamas, which administers the Gaza Strip. The two Palestinian factions split violently in 2007.
