News Analysis: Disputes between Hamas, unity gov't deepen internal Palestinian split

Eight Palestinian cabinet ministers suddenly left the Gaza Strip for the West Bank on Monday evening following deep disputes with Islamic Hamas movement.

Political analysts said the failure to reach any agreement between the two sides not only frustrated Gaza populations who were hoping to hear good news, but also deepen an endless internal division between Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party.

The unity government's delegation arrived in Gaza on Sunday. The delegation, which included 22 high-ranking government's employees, carried a government initiative aiming at ending the salary crisis of Gaza employees first.

Analysts said the reason for the deadlock was the clear contradiction in the visions of both Hamas and the unity government in the mechanism of implementing the initiative and the solutions to the existing functional infrastructure.

WHY THEY DIFFER?

Naji Shurab, political science professor at al-Azhar University in Gaza, told Xinhua that during the meetings between the government's officials and Hamas representatives, "it was clear that Hamas leaders wanted first to find a solution to the postponement of paying salaries to its employees in Gaza."

When Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip by force in 2007, around 70,000 employees were getting their monthly salaries paid by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). In response, President Abbas instructed those employees to stay home and get their monthly salaries paid.

A vacuum was left and the daily life affairs of the populations in the Gaza Strip were influenced, mainly in areas of health, education and security. To resolve the problem, Hamas nominated 43,000 employees to fill the vacuum at that time and paid their salaries for eight years.

But when the unity government was formed in June last year, as part of a reconciliation agreement reached with Fatah Party, Hamas demanded the unity government to pay the salaries of its 43,000 Gaza staff. The unity government presented an initiative to overcome the crisis.

The initiative brought by the government's delegation was based on fixing, rebuilding and unifying the employees' payment system for both Gaza and the West Bank and to include all employees under one authority. The initiative included replacement of employees and urging others for early retirement.

"Hamas has been trying to pressure on the government's delegation to approve the monthly salaries payment to its 43,000 employees in the Gaza Strip before rebuilding or rearranging the new Palestinian employees' payment system," said Shurab.

TRADE OF ACCUSATIONS

During their stay in a northern Gaza hotel, the ministers and other delegation members were unable to leave the hotel and go to the ministries offices in Gaza because the pro-Hamas employees' union threatened to demonstrate before the main government's headquarters.

Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that the instructions for the government's delegation to leave Gaza soon and head back to Ramallah in the West Bank, were made after security apparatuses received data on hot threats to the lives of the ministers.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza said in an emailed press statement after the government's delegation left Gaza that "the Palestinian (National) Authority is fully responsible for the failure of the unity government to act during the past ten months."

Abu Zuhri said the unity government has to be committed to the reconciliation agreements reached with Hamas on the two main issues: equalizing salaries between Hamas and PNA employees and sharing the administration of the crossing points on the Gaza Strip borders.

"The government has to stop the policy of eclecticism in implementing the reached agreements, mainly the deals related to the internal reconciliation," said Abu Zuhri, adding "the government should stop its policy of discrimination among the employees."

In the mean time, the Palestinian ministry of information in Ramallah accused Hamas movement of obstructing the performance of the unity government "on purpose," adding in a press statement that "what happened in Gaza was a dangerous indication that shows that Hamas wants to carry on with division."

"Hamas had closed all doors and windows in the face of the government and prevented it from acting properly in the Gaza Strip," said the statement of the ministry of information, adding "we call on Hamas to stop its policy of blackmailing the government."

INTERNAL SPLIT DEEPENED

Local observers believed that what happened in Gaza in the past two days has certainly deepened the Palestinian internal split between Gaza and the West Bank which started in 2007.

Tala Oukal, the Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua that one year after reaching an agreement to form the unity government, nothing was accomplished or achieved, and the rival parties were unable to narrow the gaps and achieve full reconciliation on the ground.

"Under such situation, I don't expect that the two sides will be able soon to resolve all their growing disputes and feuds," said Oukal, adding "so far the two sides are sticking to their positions and are not willing to provide concessions that serves the interests of the Palestinian people and their cause." Endit