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Abbas Slams Hamas Over Gaza Attack, Says Group Doomed to 'Trash Can of History'

© REUTERS / Issam Rimawi/Pool/File Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - Sputnik International
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Long-running tensions between the two main Palestinian political parties, Fatah, chaired by Abbas, and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, escalated this week after a Fatah spokesman in Gaza was seriously injured, allegedly by Hamas members.

Fatah Chairman and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has blasted Hamas over Monday's attack on Fatah Gaza spokesman Atef Abu Seif.

"Hamas, which carried out a coup in Gaza, will enter the trash can of history. The Palestinian people will not forgive Hamas for its actions," Abbas said, according to Arutz Sheva.

Hamas denied any involvement in the attack on Seif, who was beaten by a group of men outside his home on Monday, with Gaza's interior ministry promising an investigation into the incident. Following the incident, Fatah deputy chairman Mahmoud Aloul accused Hamas of an 'assassination attempt' against Seif. The attack reportedly took place against the backdrop of broader protests in Gaza this week over rising prices.

An Israeli army tank fires towards the Gaza Strip (File) - Sputnik International
Israeli Tank Strikes Hamas Post in Gaza in Response to Border Riots - IDF
Tensions between Fatah and Hamas have been simmering since 2007, when the moderate Islamic political and militant group took over the Gaza Strip after a short war with their secular rivals. Fatah has repeatedly accused Hamas of dividing the country and preventing the Palestinian Unity Government from administering the Gaza Strip, and demanded that Hamas hand over full control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority government.

Gaza's population of 1.85 million people faces a blockade by Israel and Egypt, with tensions between Israelis and the Palestinians in the exclave running high since March 2018 and the start of the so-called Great March of Return protest movement. The protests have led to the deaths of over 200 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier, with hundreds more injured due to gunshot wounds and Hamas fire balloon attacks on neighbouring Israeli territories.

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