Hamas authorities decided to prevent any official from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement from leaving Gaza Strip, sources said on Tuesday.
The decision was made after Hamas government, which rules Gaza, accused the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority (PA) of not sending blank passports to the Hamas-controlled Gaza so that the Hamas interior ministry can't issue passports for the people there.
"Fatah leaders are barred from traveling unless the problem is resolved and the people are able to enjoy their rights of having new passports," the sources said.
The decision mainly applies on Zakarya al-Agha, Fatah representative in Gaza and his deputy Ibraheem Abu Al-Naja.
Hamas has been controlling Gaza since last year after routing pro-Abbas forces and ousting Fatah. Abbas consolidated his power in the West Bank while Hamas tightened its rule on the impoverished territory of Gaza.
The PA doesn't deal with Hamas government since Abbas withdrew his movement from a coalition government with Hamas after he lost Gaza. Abbas also fired Hamas government and formed a western-backed administration based in the West Bank.
On Monday, the Hamas interior ministry announced that the last passport was issued and it would not be able to renew or issue more passports due to the lack of blank papers.
The power struggle between Hamas and Fatah negatively affected the ordinary Palestinians in Gaza, especially students and patients who need to travel.
Source: Xinhua
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