Hamas official: The future of the reconciliation depends on Abbas

The stances taken by the head of Fatah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will determine the prospects for the national reconciliation government’s success, a Hamas spokesperson said.

Osama Hamdan told Al-Resalah yesterday that Fatah’s behaviour reveals a lack of genuineness regarding the implementation of the reconciliation agreement. For reconciliation to be achieved, Fatah and Abbas need to build bridges of trust, Hamdan said.

“Reconciliation cannot take root through rosy promises, it needs practical steps from all sides,” he added.

Hamdan stressed that his movement has given a lot for the sake of ending the reconciliation, starting with the formation of the consensus government. “Hamas did and will continue to do all what it can do. All sides must show national responsibility.”

Abbas had said that he will not offer Gaza’s government employees salaries from the Palestinian Authority, and that the Rafah border crossing will continue to be closed until the presidential border guards return to the Gaza-Egypt borders.

The reconciliation is facing major challenges in light of the pressures that Gaza’s employees have been subjected to. Some of them have had their salaries delayed and are threatened with losing their jobs.