BICOM

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas told the Revolutionary Council of his Fatah faction that the unity government it agreed last year with Hamas would be dissolved, possibly within 24 hours.

Ever since Hamas violently expelled Fatah forces loyal to the PA president in 2007, relations between the two factions have been bitter. Reconciliation was announced when the unity government was established in April 2014. However, the inclusion of Hamas in an Abbas-led government marked the end of US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the PA. Although a cabinet backed by Fatah and Hamas was established, the unity agreement was never fully implemented and two have not shared power. Hamas remains in exclusive control of the Gaza Strip, while the PA is the sole authority in Palestinian areas of the West Bank. The PA proved unwilling to pay Hamas salaries, and were not prepared to station their forces on the borders with Israel, without Hamas conceding real authority within the Gaza Strip.

Spokesman for the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Amin Maqbul, told AFP yesterday, “The government will resign in the next 24 hours because this one is weak and there is no chance that Hamas will allow it to work in Gaza.” Abbas is apparently set to meet PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah today. It is expected that Abbas will ask Hamdallah to remain in post, but to begin the formation of a new cabinet.

During the past several months, Hamas and Fatah officials have accused each other of accentuating divisions between them and among Palestinians. In particular, Fatah has accused Hamas of secretly dealing with Israel over the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Hamas official Salah Bardaweel accused Abbas in April of “personal intransigence and total refusal to share powers.”

This is the latest in a long series of failed attempts by the Palestinian factions to reconcile their differences and establish a joint authority.

Yesterday, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee on Israel’s security situation. He emphasised that there is strong security cooperation with the PA in the West Bank. Meanwhile, he warned that terror groups linked to ISIS are increasingly gaining a foothold in the Gaza Strip.