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Report: Hamas government spokesman resigns
Palestinian source says Ghazi Hamad decided to quit his job as Hamas' 'face' in Gaza Strip because movement had failed to reach compromise with Fatah: 'Hamad opposed the Strip takeover, thinking it would only cause trouble'
Roee Nahmias
Hamas
government spokesman Dr Ghazi Hamad has resigned following the recent events in the Gaza Strip, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Friday.
A Palestinian source told the paper that Hamad quit his job because he believed Hamas did not do enough to reach a compromise with the rival Fatah movement.
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"Hamad had many comments and reservations over the mistakes which were made and are being made on the administrative and security level. Hamad's stance is not new and everyone is familiar with it, both inside Hamas and in the Palestinian Authority," the source said.
According to the report, Hamad will be replaced by one of Hamas' most prominent spokespeople, Taher al-Nunu, who already issyed his first statement on Thursday evening.
Al-Nunu said that the Hamas government had decided to merge between the movement's special security force established by former Interior Minister Said Siam, and the Palestinian police in the Strip.
According to the same Palestinian source, despite many attempts to convince him to talk, Hamad refuses to elaborate on the reasons for his resignation.
It is known, however, that Hamad, an aide of the Hamas government's prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, was unsatisfied with the events in the Gaza Strip and refused to issue statements on matters he did not support.
"Hamad believed that Hamas' takeover
of the Strip was not a positive move which would benefit the movement, but would rather cause many problems in terms of politics and foreign relations. He thought the move would lead to the collapse of the national unity government, and that's what happened," the source added.
According to the source, a number of crises created following the coup, including the clashes in the Strip and the wages
and crossings
scandals, contributed to his decision.
The source added that Hamad believed Hamas should make the first move toward reconciliation with Fatah, but that this did not happen. According to the source, the talks have reached a dead end, as Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal admitted in a speech delivered Thursday.
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