Palestinian Prime Minister says Hamas is the security body in Gaza

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamadallah has said that Hamas is the “real security authority” in the Gaza Strip, and called for it to reveal the details of those who carried out the recent bomb attacks against Fatah personnel. Speaking to Aljazeera Arabic TV, Hamadallah said that his government cannot work in Gaza under the current tension. Hamas must defuse the security situation, he insisted, before the much-needed unity can be achieved.

It was security issues that caused him to postpone, not cancel, his proposed visit to the Gaza Strip, said the prime minister. He stressed that his government is seeking complete unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Asked about aid for the besieged territory in the wake of the latest Israeli war, Hamadallah pointed out that none of the international pledges announced at the donor conference in Cairo have been paid. With regards to the Rafah Border Crossing, he said that hopes that calm will return to Sinai in order to discuss the issue of reopening the crossing with the “Egyptian brothers”.

Meanwhile, Hamas denied Hamadallah’s remarks about the security situation, saying that he is the reference point for the security services according to the reconciliation agreement. In a media statement, a spokesman for the movement, Sami Abu-Zuhri, insisted that Hamadallah holds the interior ministry portfolio but has never contacted any of the security agencies in the Gaza Strip. He called on the prime minister to do so in order to improve security for the 1.8 million Palestinians living in the coastal enclave.

According to Palestinian newspaper Al-Resalah, Hamadallah has not even paid any salaries for the interior ministry employees in Gaza. He has, it is claimed, been refusing to contact them despite requests from various Palestinian groups.