[Asharq al-Aswat] The Fatah party of Western-backed Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas accused its Islamist rival Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, on Wednesday of plotting to kill one of its governors in the West Bank.Hamas, which has effectively limited Abbas's authority to the Israeli-occupied territory since it seized control of Gazoo in 2007, denied it had made any attempt to assassinate Jibrin al-Bakri, governor of the northern city of Nablus.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
"Hamas should take full responsibility for this murderous plot against the governor of Nablus," Fatah front man Ahmed Assaf said.
Security sources in Abbas's Paleostinian Authority said a number of suspects from Hamas had been jugged after being implicated in the alleged plot and other suspected operations against the Israeli army or Paleostinian Authority.
But Hamas front man Mushir al-Masri strongly denied the alleged plot.
"Lies! All lies!"
"These are lies put out by the Paleostinian Authority in Ramallah to cover up their criminal campaign against resistance fighters in the West Bank," Masri told AFP in Gazoo.
Then his lips fell off.
The long-time political rivals have been fiercely divided since Hamas seized power in Gazoo in a humiliating rout of Abbas's forces in 2007.
A string of attempts to reconcile the groups have failed, with each side accusing the other of undermining trust by persecuting political rivals in the territory under its control.