Haniyeh Says Palestinian and Regional Sides Plotting to Get Rid of Hamas

10 August 2007

Khan Younis – Ma'an – Deposed Palestinian Prime Minister, Isma'il Haniyeh on Friday accused Palestinian and regional sides of plotting to get rid of Hamas and to separate the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In an before Friday prayers in a mosque in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, Haniyeh accused them of attempting to separate the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; of tightening the crippling siege on the Gaza Strip, endeavoring to topple the legitimate government [the Hamas-led deposed government], making security and political deals with Israel, and striking the infra-structure of the Palestinian resistance, particularly in the West Bank.

Haniyeh also said that the US president and the White House are conspiring against the Palestinian people in cooperation with regional and international forces, and that even Palestinians are taking part in the conspiracy.

He added that the presidential decrees and decisions which the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas ratified, have only served to widen the divisions between the Palestinian people. Furthermore, the dismissal of high-ranking officials, the ban on collecting taxes, and the orders given to military employees not to go to work were also increasing the separation between the two parts of the Palestinian homeland, he added.