Marxist PFLP Slam Hamas, Fatah for ‘Putting Politics over Lives of Palestinians’

Amidst heightened political tensions, the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, PFLP, has slammed both Hamas and Fatah for putting politics over the lives of Palestinians.

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In statements made Thursday, the left-wing Palestinian political faction rejected Hamas’ move to block members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, and Fatah Central Committee from leaving Gaza to travel to the occupied West Bank.

“The ban and the obstruction of movement from Gaza to the West Bank is a policy that Hamas follows, violating all rights and personal freedom, and (damaging) national relations,” the PFLP stated.

The group demands that Hamas “immediately stop this policy.”

It also slammed the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, PA, policies of “collective punishment” on Palestinians living in the Hamas-led Gaza Strip, whose citizens have seen punitive measures by both the PA and Israel.

The group's statement on the issue in Arabic.

“The price that the Palestinian people pay in the Gaza Strip is so much more precious and important than the narrow partisan gains that are achieved by playing with lives of innocent Palestinians,” said PFLP’s statement.

The PFLP also railed against Israel’s continued siege on the Gaza Strip, declaring that “a popular explosion will eventually burst against all who caused the suffering of the people.”

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The PA came under fire in April when it slashed the salaries of Gaza-based employees by up to 30 percent, while also discontinuing payments to some 277 former political prisoners of Israel, many with ties to Hamas.

They have also cut funding to the besieged territory’s medical sector, in addition to blocking 11 Palestinian news websites that also are allegedly affiliated with Hamas.

The PA has condemned Hamas' rule in the Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas collects taxes and runs the government while the PA provides millions of dollars to both infrastructure projects and electricity provisions.

The infighting comes as Gazan citizens mark 10 years of living under Israeli occupation and blockade. The United Nations warned last month that the region could become uninhabitable by 2020.