Fatah blasts Hamas for stealing humanitarian aid during Gaza operation

Verbal attack seen as a sign of increased tensions between Palestinian factions in the aftermath of Gaza operation.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Hamas operatives in Gaza. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Hamas operatives in Gaza.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Fatah’s Central Committee on Saturday night issued a strong condemnation of Hamas, accusing the Islamist movement of targeting Fatah cadres during the war and stealing humanitarian aid.
The attack is seen as a sign of increased tensions between the two parties in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge and could jeopardize the reconciliation agreement between them.
During the war, Fatah and Hamas refrained from criticizing each other and continued to insist that their reconciliation deal, which was signed last April, had not been affected.
But the statement issued by Fatah shows the gap between the two parties remains as wide as ever.
The statement accused Hamas “militias” of committing the ugliest crimes and encroachments during the war against Fatah members in the Gaza Strip.
It said Hamas representatives shot and beat dozens of Fatah members, some of whom were transferred for medical treatment in Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus.
The statement said Hamas also placed more than 300 Fatah members under house arrest, exposing them to Israeli air strikes.
Other Fatah members were kept in Hamas prisons during the war, which also endangered their lives, the statement said.
Fatah said it preferred to remain silent toward the Hamas “crimes” during the war out of keenness to preserve Palestinian unity.
Fatah also accused Hamas of confiscating food and medicine sent to the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and other countries. It said Hamas distributed the aid among its men in mosques and sold some of it in the black market.