Gaza - Hamas Saturday accused the Palestinian Authority (PA)
of supporting the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip in a bid to
weaken the Islamic movement which controls the territory.
'The repeated calls by some of the PA officials that electricity
and fuel supplies to Gaza should be cut reflect an intention to
weaken Hamas movement,' said Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman.
Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip on November 4 after an Egyptian-
brokered ceasefire was rocked by a series of Israeli military
operations and ensuing rocket fire from the territory by the armed
Palestinian groups.
Owing to lack of fuel, the only power plant in the Strip has been
shut down, threatening vital service sectors.
However, PA officials in the West Bank have claimed the blackout
in Gaza was a ploy by Hamas to draw international attention.
Taha also said the Israeli closure was 'strongly related' to the
failure of an Egyptian effort to reconcile Hamas and Palestinian
president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement which lost control of Gaza
last year.
'Abbas' refusal to participate in the sessions of the (Egyptian-
hosted) dialogue proves that the PA wants to isolate Hamas,' Taha
said. The Israeli blockade tightened after his movement rejected
joining the dialogue, he said.
But Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestine Liberation
Organization's executive committee, rejected the Hamas claims,
accusing it of 'neglecting the residents of Gaza Strip.'
'The only policy the coup-makers (Hamas) have is enjoying the
suffering of Gaza Strip and trying to utilize the blockade on the
media,' Abed Rabbo added.
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