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Intra-Palestinian rift keeps widening with no end in sight

Amid reports that local and international mediators are shuttling between the Gaza Strip and Ramallah to end the dispute, it seems Fatah will not yield until Hamas meets all of its demands.
Hamas supporters hold crossed posters depicting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah during a protest against them in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip April 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX35JYQ

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Helvetica; color: #4d4d4d; -webkit-text-stroke: #4d4d4d; background-color: #02fdff} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none; color: #042eee; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #042eee} President Mahmoud Abbas has been sending local and international mediators to Gaza to discuss a range of issues that would achieve reconciliation, Hamas leader Yahya Moussa revealed to Al-Monitor. Abbas’ efforts come following the rapprochement that began taking shape between Hamas and Egypt, and seem to be aimed at undermining the understandings the movement reached with dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, according to Moussa.

The internal crisis between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah on the one hand and Hamas on the other has worsened since Hamas formed the administrative committee to manage the Gaza Strip instead of the national consensus government, amid bleak reconciliation prospects. Consequently, the PA took a series of measures against Gaza, including cutting off the Gaza employees’ salaries and forcing them to retire early. The PA also stopped covering the bills for electricity supplied by Israel to the Gaza Strip. This pushed Hamas in June to conclude deals with Dahlan, under Egyptian sponsorship, to alleviate Gaza’s crises.

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