Palestinian President Abbas Slams Hamas for Running Shadow Government in Gaza

By Steven Hogg - 08 Sep '14 11:20AM

Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Hamas of operating a shadow government in Gaza.

"There is a shadow government that consists of 27 deputy ministers who run the strip, and the unity government is actually rendered helpless," Abbas said, according to CNN. "We cannot accept the current state of affairs, and we will not accept a partnership between us and them (Hamas) if their state of affairs remains as it is in Gaza," he said.

Coming up with statistics, Abbas blamed Hamas for killing 120 youths since they did not put up with the house arrest forced on them. He said that Hamas lost "only" 50 men during the war, while Fatah lost 861 men, reports rt.com.

However, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri has lashed back at his statements.

In his face book page, Zuhri said that Abbas' statements on Hamas were unjustified. Abbas has made his judgment by resorting to information which is unfounded, he said.

Referring to the reconciliation agreement signed between Hamas and Fatah in April, Zuhri said that both the sides had decided to hold a meeting soon to put in to practice the articles of the agreement.

When the agreement was signed in April, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu had said that there should be only one authority and one regime. He had also said that Abbas made an agreement with a murderous terror organization, which strives to destroy Israel, reports rt.com.

Meanwhile, a poll conducted last week by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that the popularity of Hamas increased after Israel's seven week bombardment of Gaza.