Abbas accuses Hamas of trying ‘to destroy’ Palestinian unity

RAMALLAH, Nov 11, (agencies): Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday accused the Islamist movement Hamas of trying "to destroy" efforts to broker national unity through a series of bomb blasts in Gaza last week.

Hamas quickly hit back, describing the allegations as "lies".

In a speech marking the 10th anniversary of the death of veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Abbas said Hamas was behind the Gaza explosions which targeted leaders of his Fatah movement.

The blasts prompted the cancellation of a rare memorial service in Gaza for Arafat, the Fatah founder who died in mysterious circumstances in a hospital near Paris.

"Those who caused the explosions in Gaza are the leaders of Hamas-they are responsible," Abbas said in the West Bank city of Ramallah, accusing the rival faction of trying "to sabotage and destroy the Palestinian national project."

Earlier this year, the two nationalist movements signed a reconciliation agreement aimed at ending seven years of bitter and sometimes bloody rivalry which saw the West Bank and Gaza ruled by separate administrations.