The Jerusalem Post reports: The ruling Palestinian Fatah faction on Saturday warned Hamas against reaching a cease-fire agreement with Israel in return for humanitarian and economic aid to the Gaza Strip and said such a deal would be a “free gift to Israel.”
The warning came amid unconfirmed reports that Israel and Hamas were close to reaching a long-term truce agreement. Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasmeh warned Hamas against striking such a deal with Israel “at the expense of national unity.”
He said such a deal would be considered a “free gift to Israel and another coup against the Palestinian people and their homeland.” He was referring to Hamas’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Qawasmeh said the No. 1 priority should be achieving Palestinian unity on the basis of previous agreements signed between Hamas and Fatah, and not a truce with Israel in return for humanitarian aid.
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