Fatah Calls on Hamas to Leave the Government Scene: Have Mercy on Gaza and Its Children

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With the aim of protecting the “Palestinian presence” in the Gaza Strip, the Fatah movement, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on Saturday called on Hamas to relinquish power.

Fatah’s spokesperson in Gaza, Munther Al-Hayek, urged Hamas to step down from governance and fully realize that the upcoming battle is about ending the Palestinian presence.

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Speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Al-Hayek said: “Hamas must have mercy on Gaza, its children, its women, and its men. We warn of heavy, harsh, and difficult days ahead for the residents of the Gaza Strip.”

Hamas, which won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, seized control of Gaza in 2007 after forcing Fatah out of the territory.

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Distortion of Facts

Meanwhile, Hamas accused the United States on Saturday of “distorting the truth” by claiming that the Palestinian movement had chosen war with Israel by refusing to release the hostages.

In a statement, Hamas responded to remarks made Tuesday by the spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, Brian Hughes, asserting that saying “Hamas chose war over releasing the hostages” is a distortion of the facts.

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Hughes had stated at the time: “Hamas could have released the hostages to extend the ceasefire, but instead, it chose rejection and war.”

Hamas countered, asserting that it had proposed clear initiatives for a ceasefire and a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal, but that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliberately rejected and sabotaged them to serve his political interests.

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Israel resumed its intense bombing of Gaza on Tuesday, citing stalled indirect negotiations over the next steps in the truce following the end of its first phase earlier this month.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the Hamas attack, 58 remain held in Gaza, including 34 whom the Israeli army has declared dead.

According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health—whose figures are deemed credible by the United Nations—the war in Gaza has resulted in at least 49,617 deaths, the majority of whom are civilians, women, and children.

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