By Richard Mather, JMA editor
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that he will dissolve a unity agreement with Hamas if “the situation” in Gaza does not change.
In remarks published by Palestinian news agency WAFA, Mr Abbas said: “We won’t accept a partnership with them if the situation continues like this in Gaza.”
The PA president accuses Hamas of running a “shadow government” in Gaza.
In April this year it was announced that Fatah and Hamas had agreed to form a unity government. But Mr Abbas has since made it clear that he does not trust Hamas.
“Hamas has been trying to cause the Palestinian Authority to fail since the day it was formed,” he told Arab journalists in Cairo on Saturday night.
“If Hamas will not accept a Palestinian state with one government, one law and one weapon, then there will not be any partnership between us.”
Mr Abbas also told journalists that more than 850 Hamas members and their family members were killed during Operation Protective Edge, thus confirming Israeli estimations.
