Hamas seeks to self-manage Palestinian ministries in Gaza

A senior Islamic Hamas movement official said on Thursday that his movement is seeking to self-manage the various Palestinian ministries responsible for daily affairs in the Gaza Strip.

The move came "after the current Palestinian consensus government of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah is shunning Gaza Strip and marginalize it," Sala el-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas leader, told reporters.

Mohamed al-Ghoul, a Hamas lawmaker in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Legislative Council, which has been inoperative since 2007, said the parliament will convene soon to discuss the issue.

Hamas is the only group that convenes the parliament in Gaza, while other factions, mainly Fatah of President Mahmoud Abbas, boycott the sessions.

Meanwhile, another senior Hamas official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Xinhua that a relevant administrative committee has been formed.

Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, after weeks of fighting with Abbas' security forces.

Since then, an internal political and geographical division over administrative, financial and security issues has remained between the two sides despite a series of Arab and international mediations.

Source: Xinhua