RAMALLAH, June 23,2011 (WAFA)- Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf said Thursday that Hamas’ determination to nominate Jamal El-Khudary for prime minister is a recipe for damaging the reconciliation and resuming internal division.
In a press statement, Assaf blamed Hamas for obstructing the implementation of the reconciliation agreement due to its persistence in favoring its own interests over those of the Palestinian people, adding that El-Khudary belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood and is from Hamas.
Assaf stressed that national duty was to lift the siege from the Gaza Strip, not bring it to the West Bank. He noted Gaza’s traumatic living conditions brought about by the siege, referring to a recent UNRWA study that indicated the rate of unemployment in the Strip to be more than 46%, the highest in the world, and that more than 300,000 people in Gaza live on less than a dollar a day.
In reply to offensive comments by Hamas official Osama Hamdan against Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas, Assaf said, “President Abbas is one of the first initiators of the Palestinian revolution, he is our people’s elected president who is trying to successfully and intelligently lead their battle, holding on to all our terms despite Israeli and international pressure.”
He added that “these comments are a reflection of Hamas’ inner conflict due to its regional connections, especially to Iran, who has retracted its earlier agreement for Hamas to proceed to reconciliation.”
F.J.
