Hamas leader threatens to withdraw from unity government

Hamas leader Mushir Al-Masri has warned that the Islamic Resistance movement will withdraw from the Palestinian unity government if it continues to ignore the plight of the Gaza Strip.

“If the government decided to abandon Gaza employee, we will abandon it politically,” Al-Masri said in a statement.

Al- Masri said in remarks to Resala news site that the Palestinian government has abandoned all its responsibilities in the enclave – not least towards public sector employees – proving that it is a “partisan government” and not a unity government that serves the people.

“The government created an unprecedented crisis in the enclave,” he said, placing the blame on Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party for the lack of reconciliation.

Al-Masri called on the Palestinian government to show national responsibility and to prove its loyalty to the people and not to Abbas.

The Palestinian unity government earlier decided to fire Palestinian staff hired by Hamas’s government in Gaza, while maintaining their job titles.