By Xinhua,
Gaza : A Fatah leader on Thursday said Hamas Islamists can not uproot his movement in Gaza Strip they control.
“Fatah is the Palestinian people’s movement and the pioneer of its struggle since 44 years,” said Ibraheem Abu al-Naja, a Fatah leader based in the Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Hamas arrested hundreds of Fatah supporters and leaders, including Abu al-Naja, in Gaza following a blast that killed a girl and five Hamas members on the beach last month. Hamas accused Fatah of being responsible.
Hamas said it started to release Fatah people who prove they were uninvolved in the beachside incident, but Abu al-Naja says “the releasing of Fatah leaders is insufficient while hundreds of its supporters ate still jailed.”
Abu al-Naja also criticized Hamas “for dealing with Fatah as an enemy” though the two movements were partners in a national unity government last year.
The coalition government collapsed in June 2007 after Hamas routed security forces of President Mahmoud Abbas and ousted his movement in deadly fighting to control Gaza.
Hamas consolidated its power in Gaza as Abbas fired the coalition administration and formed a Western-backed government based in West Bank. Hamas rules the Gaza Strip with its own government.