In yet another sign of mounting tensions between the two rival parties, the Palestinian ruling Fatah faction on Monday accused Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh of “promoting” US President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-announced plan for peace in the Middle East, also known as the “Deal of the Century.” The latest allegation came after Hamas announced that its security forces arrested a number of Palestinian Authority intelligence officers on suspicion of helping Israel kill Palestinian Islamic Jihad military commander Baha Abu al-Ata in the Gaza Strip in November. The Hamas-Fatah tensions are likely to hamper efforts to hold long overdue Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections. The two parties on Monday accused each other of working to sabotage the proposed elections. Hamas has agreed to participate in the vote. The PA, however, says it won’t hold the elections unless Israel allows east Jerusalem residents to vote in the city. A statement issued by Fatah’s “Information and Culture Commission” claimed that Haniyeh’s current tour of several countries was aimed at “promoting the Deal of the Century and solidify the project of a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip.” Haniyeh began his tour in early December by visiting Egypt, where he held talks with General Abbas Kamel, head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service. Haniyeh later visited Turkey and Qatar and is slated to visit Russia and other countries, including Kuwait, Malaysia and Mauritania, in the coming weeks. Denouncing Haniyeh’s tour as a “conspiracy,” Fatah accused the Hamas leader of seeking to “engage with Trump and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to pass the Deal of the Century in order to liquidate the Palestinian cause.” According to Fatah, Hamas has since its establishment sought to present itself as an alternative to the PLO, with the backing of the Israeli security services. “Haniyeh does not represent the Palestinian people,” the Fatah statement said, warning international and regional parties against dealing with the Hamas leader. “Instead, he represents those who are conspiring against the Palestinian people.” Palestinian sources in Ramallah claimed that the PA asked the Egyptian authorities to ban Haniyeh from leaving the Gaza Strip. The request, however, was turned down by the Egyptians, the sources said. Several Palestinian officials in Ramallah have strongly condemned Hamas for accusing PA intelligence officers of involvement in the targeted assassination of Abu al-Ata. PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said that Hamas’s “fabrications are aimed at concealing its involvement in fake projects to liquidate the Palestinian national enterprise.” He also accused Hamas of working towards “consolidating the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip in accordance with the Deal of the Century.” Another PLO official, Ahmed Majdalani, accused Hamas of being part of the Israeli “campaign of incitement” against the PA leadership. Hamas, he said, is trying to accuse others of what it’s doing. “Our people are fed up with Hamas’s desperate attempt to avoid reconciliation [with Fatah] and new general elections,” Majdalani added. Adnan Damiri, spokesman for the PA security forces in the West Bank, claimed that Hamas and Israel were working together to undermine the PA. “Hamas’s announcement that it has arrested a cell belonging to the Palestinian General Intelligence Service coincided with the meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, which decided to cut Palestinian funds,” Damiri said, referring to Sunday’s decision to deduct NIS 150 million from the tax money that Israel transfers to the PA to offset payments to Palestinian prisoners and families of Palestinians killed while carrying out attacks against Israelis. Responding to the Fatah accusations, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem claimed that Abbas was trying to avoid holding new elections. Qassem said that the accusations are also aimed at diverting attention from the “national scandal exposed by Hamas regarding the involvement of the PA intelligence service in the assassination of martyr Baha Abu al-Ata.” The Hamas spokesman also lashed out at the PA for its continued “treacherous” security coordination with Israel. “Fatah must stop its irresponsible rhetoric which aims to poison the national arena,” Qassem said.
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