Hamas called on Saturday for the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its government to disclose suspects accused of carrying out failed assassination attempts that targeted PM Rami Hamadallah and Chief of Security Services in Gaza Tawfiq abu-Naim.

In a press conference held in Gaza, Member of Hamas Political Bureau Dr Khalil al-Hayya said: “The stray group, which belongs to the General Intelligence Agency in Ramallah, which attempted to assassinate Abu-Naim and Hamadallah aimed to kill the reconciliation.”

The press conference was held following to the interior ministry disclosure of information about the suspects involved in the two assassination attempts.

“Again, a new group emerged with suspicious aims planinng to target the social and internal Palestinian fabric, as well as to destabilise security in Gaza and Sinai,” he said.

He added: “The General Intelligence Agency [in Ramallah] planned to scare the foreigners who visit Gaza as it wanted the coastal enclave to remain living fear and suffering.”

The senior Hamas leader continued: “On 12 October, the international reconciliation was signed and stipulated that the [PA] government take up its responsibilities in Gaza. On 27 October, the failed assassination attempt of the chief of the security services in Gaza took place to undermine the reconciliation.

“After the failure to assassinate Abu-Naim [chief of the security services in Gaza], the convoy of Rami Hamadallah was planned to be detonated on March 13.”

He noted that the PA President Mahmoud Abbas, the chief of the intelligence agency in Ramallah Majed Faraj and all Fatah leaders accused Hamas from the first minute. “It was a sad attempt to mix the cards and undermine the reconciliation and it was used to impose more punitive measures on Gaza,” Al-Hayya added.

In addition, he said: “The PA and the intelligence agency refused to take part in the investigations, but they did their best to deviate its processions. It was as if we were watching a play with complete chapters.”

“Exploiting the incident and imposing the siege and the punitive measures is not a responsible or a national behaviour,” he said. “Therefore, the PA must apologise for the Palestinian people over this invalid accusation, as well as over the oppressive measures taken against Gaza.”

Then, he said: “The fact became clear and there is no need to exploit this incident to reinforce the siege. What is needed is to unite and encounter this corrupt group. The solution is to go for a consensus Palestinian National Council meeting based on partnership and previous agreements.”

Al-Hayyah said that his movement welcomes a national committee from the Palestinian factions, including Fatah, as well as an Arabic, Islamic and international committee to visit Gaza and follow up all the details of the crime closely.

Concluding his words, he said that his movement would exert its best to achieve the recompilation which serves the interests of the Palestinian people and their goals.

Background information

The Palestinian interior ministry in Gaza revealed in a press conference the details about the two failed assassination attempts that targeted the Chief of the Palestinian Security Services in Gaza General Tawfiq abu-Naim on 27 October 2017 and the PA Prime Minister Rami Hamadallah on 12 March 2018.

According to the ministry, which revealed names of the people involved in the assassination attempts, the names are referred to senior PA officials related to the intelligence services in Ramallah.

Fatah and the PA leaders exploited the two attempts to impose punitive measures on Gaza, which has been under a 11-year-old Israeli siege.

Part of the PA punitive measures was cutting the salaries of the public servants in Gaza and the salaries of the Palestinian prisoners inside the Israeli jails.