Fatah slams Iran for funding Gaza Strip while skirting PA

Relations between the Palestinian Authority and Iran have taken another bad turn, with a top Fatah official accusing Iran of worsening the Palestinian division by financially “adopting” families of Gazans killed or wounded in the Great Return protests.
Azzam al-Ahmad (L), head of the Fatah group, and Mousa Abu Marzook (C), a senior member of Hamas, speak after a news conference in Cairo April 27, 2011. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group has inked a deal with bitter rival Hamas to end their long-running feud and form an interim government ahead of elections this year, officials said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - GM1E74S0BG101
Azzam al-Ahmad (C), head of the Fatah group, and Mousa Abu Marzook (L), a senior member of Hamas, speak after a news conference, Cairo, Egypt, April 27, 2011. - REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih
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Ahmad Melhem
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — There's no end in sight to the tensions between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) and Iran, especially in light of Iran’s improving ties with Hamas. The PA pegs that improvement as the main reason for its failed attempts at reconciliation with Hamas and Hamas’ ongoing control of the Gaza Strip.

Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and the PLO's Executive Committee, made scathing comments against Iran on Nov. 27, saying it's the No. 1 sponsor of the rival Palestinian factions' division.

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