The Hamas leader Sheikh Hasan Yousuf on Tuesday asked the Palestinian Authority (PA) to abide by the reconciliation agreement warning of the consequences of the failure of reconciliation this time.
Yousuf said in a press statement that until this moment reconciliation exists in the media only pointing to the ongoing PA policy of political arrest in the West Bank and the delay in lifting the sanctions imposed on Gaza.
He warned that any procrastination by the PA and Fatah movement in implementing the reconciliation agreement and ending the division will affect the mutual trust and lead to unpleasant consequences.
He added that Hamas has made serious steps to end the internal division and that the Palestinian people are expecting the PA president Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah to lift the sanctions on Gaza and halt political arrests in return.
Hamas and Fatah on 12th October signed an Egypt-sponsored deal in Cairo which provides for enabling the PA government to fully carry out its duties in the Gaza Strip and calls for a comprehensive national dialogue in November.
The Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip are waiting for Abbas to announce practical measures to cancel the sanctions he imposed on them in April in response to the formation of the Gaza administrative committee which Hamas dissolved on 17th September.
