By Xinhua
Gaza : Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) vowed Wednesday to continue fighting against "the coup makers" led by Fatah security chiefs who are loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.
"If Fatah was interested in stopping the clashes, simply they can keep down the coup makers and traitorous stream among its members," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.
Abu Zuhri's remarks came after Fatah Central Committee suspended participation of its ministers in the coalition government, led by Prime Minister Ismail Haneya of Hamas.
Fatah said its decision was in protest against the crimes that Hamas gunmen committed in the Gaza Strip, targeting security headquarters and houses of Fatah partisans.
Hamas, which termed the decision as blackmail attempt, said that those who commit crimes were "members of the security agencies that President Mahmoud Abbas leads."
"Fatah is unable to control its coup makers, so Hamas is forced to continue protecting the Palestinian people," Abu Zuhri emphasized.
The two factions formed a unity government in March in accordance with a power-sharing deal reached a month earlier in Saudi Arabia.