Hamas governing policies lead to big crisis: Fatah spokesman

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement condemned on Saturday the policies of governing Hamas, saying the policies led to a worsening big crisis.

"The crisis is worsening and deepening because Hamas, which took office democratically, is now throwing aside anything related to the democracy," Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel Rahman told radio Voice of Palestine.

He said that Hamas would be forced to moderate its stance and meet international demands by public pressure.

"The open-ended strike by the employees and the demonstrations would succeed in teaching all political factions and Hamas to abide by the national attitude," Abdel Rahman said.

Some 165,000 unpaid public servants went on strike since the beginning of September, demanding salaries from the Hamas-led government, which had been unable to pay full salaries to them since it took office in late March.

"The treasury would be full of money only when the government and the presidency abide by a unified political platform that honors Arab and international legitimacy," added Abdel Rahman.

International fund and aid for the Palestinians were stopped following the formation of the Hamas government, as the ruling movement rejected major donors' demand to moderate its stance regarding the call to destruct the Jewish state.

Meanwhile, Abdel Rahman confirmed that talks on the national unity government would resume when President Abbas returns home after attending the 61st session of the UN General Assembly and visiting Egypt.

On Aug. 17, Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya, who is also a senior Hamas official, agreed on forming a coalition government with a new moderate political program based on the prisoners' document, which calls for a Palestinian statehood alongside Israel and a truce with Israel to end the ongoing violence in the Palestinian territories.

The move to form a coalition government was seen as an effort to end international isolation and the West's aid blockade of the Hamas-led government.

Source: Xinhua