BICOM

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction has cancelled celebrations that were scheduled to take place in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to celebrate the forty-eighth anniversary of Fatah’s founding.

The two Palestinian factions have been fierce rivals since Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah in 2007 and PA security forces have routinely arrested Hamas activists in the West Bank in recent years. However, there appeared to be signs of a move towards reconciliation between the two sides, particularly when earlier this month the PA permitted rallies marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of Hamas, to be held in the PA-controlled West Bank.

Hamas had seemingly agreed to reciprocate the gesture by allowing the upcoming Fatah events to take place in Gaza. However, it emerged yesterday that Fatah had decided to cancel the Gaza celebrations after Hamas refused to let them stage rallies in the two main squares in the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that security considerations were behind the decision. Yehya Rabah, a senior Fatah official in the Gaza Strip told the Jerusalem Post that Egypt and Qatar had tried to mediate in the dispute.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, small-scale clashes took place yesterday between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, as tensions continue to simmer in the area. A number of Israeli civilian and army vehicles were attacked by Palestinian stone-throwers and the IDF dispersed a violent protest near the Esh Kadosh outpost with riot control equipment.