PLO official says ‘hold Hamas accountable’ comment was ‘distorted’

Head of the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs, Hussein Al-Sheikh [Twitter]

The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has said that his comment has been “distorted” about holding the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, accountable after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. “The Palestinian Authority was the first to defend the resistance,” added Hussein Al-Sheikh.

The senior PLO official sparked a wave of anger in the occupied Palestinian territories after telling a TV channel that he demanded that Hamas should be held accountable, while noting that the priority now is a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Al-Sheikh has also told Al Jazeera that he denied claims made on Israel’s Channel 12 two days ago that Israel and the PA had agreed on a mechanism that allows the PA to receive the funds that Tel Aviv has been withholding since October, because to do so would allow Israel to see the names of those in Gaza who will receive PA salaries.

“What we need now is the isolation at the international level of the extremist Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu,” he insisted. “The Oslo Accords have died and been buried under the chains of Israeli tanks. What is happening now is a comprehensive Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.”

Al-Sheikh pointed out that the PA is “under the Israeli hammer” and does not have “a million soldiers to confront the Israeli government.” Moreover, he said that the PA does not want to see the kind of killing and displacement that is happening in Gaza take place in the West Bank.

“The negotiations path is facing difficulties due to it clashing with an extreme right-wing Israeli government. There is a need to reconsider the path of armed resistance and the path of political settlement. The ballot box should be the deciding factor between a negotiated agreement and resistance projects.” This was a reference to the platforms of the Fatah-led PA and Hamas respectively.

READ: Senior UK Conservative MPs call on government to push for Gaza ceasefire amid Israeli atrocities

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