Israeli minister: Abbas won't get Israel's support by criticising Hamas

Israeli Minister for Intelligence Affairs and International Relations Yuval Steinitz said on Sunday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s attack on Hamas would not relieve him of his responsibility for what happened in the Gaza Strip, Assabeel newspaper reported.

The newspaper quoted Steinitz as saying that it is better for Abbas not to moralise and that he must carry out Israel’s minimum demand, which is controlling Gaza and making it an arms-free zone.

Chairman of the Israeli Labour Party Isaac Herzog reportedly attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of “wasting a historical chance as he refuses to create a political horizon with Abbas.” He added that Netanyahu poses a danger to the future of Israel.

Meanwhile, speaking to journalists on Saturday in Cairo, Abbas severely criticised Hamas, warning that the partnership would break down unless the resistance movement lays down its arms.

Assabeel quoted Abbas as saying: “We will not accept for Hamas to continue in this condition… We will not accept any partnership with [Hamas] if it remains the same in the Gaza Strip.”

Abbas’s condition for ruling the Strip is for Hamas to lay down its arms so that only the PA’s weapons, under his direct control, could be used in the enclave.