A Fatah spokesman on Thursday accused the Islamic Hamas movement of trying to prevent supporters of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement from marking the annual anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas authorities summoned a Fatah district leader in northern Gaza "to put pressure on Fatah not to participate in the Nakba's rally," said Fehmi al-Za'arier, a Fatah spokesman based in the West Bank.

The deposed government of Gaza, run by Hamas movement, authorized the committee to organize activities for the Nakba but kept the ban on all other activities that Fatah may try to hold, according to the spokesman.

Nakba is the day of Israel's creation and the day of the immigration of most Palestinians from their original villages and hometowns. This year marks the 61st anniversary of the Nakba.