Unity Pact is Void if Hamas Carried Out Kidnapping, PA Official Says
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (Worthy News)– If Hamas was behind the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, it would mark a breach of understandings between Fatah and Hamas, and render their unity agreement void, a senior official in the Palestinian Authority told the Times of Israel.
“There was an understanding that the Palestinians want to establish a state along the pre-1967 borders and that Hamas would desist from [terrorist] attacks,” the official who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told the Times of Israel.
“We stressed this issue with them time and again, and they agreed that there would be no bloodshed.”
“We discussed with them in great detail that the Palestinians are proceeding solely with ‘popular resistance’ and not with armed resistance,” the official went on. “If it becomes clear that Hamas is responsible for the kidnapping and breached the agreement, that would mark the crossing of a red line from our point of view, and we could not maintain the reconciliation status quo.”
Last week, Hamas called on members of its armed wing in the West Bank to target Israeli soldiers and civilians in a bid to ease the plight of its prisoners in Israeli jails, a party spokesman said on Monday.