Fatah and Hamas have vowed to press ahead with the implementation of a national unity deal, in response to a US official demanding the disarming of Hamas.
The two dominant parties in Palestinian politics signed a unity deal in Cairo last week, in an effort to end a decade of the divide between them.
Jason Greenblatt, the US president’s special representative for international negotiations, on Thursday, said Hamas must disarm if it wants any role in a unity government, in the first detailed US response to the deal.
Hamas rejected Greenblatt’s comments as “blackmail attempts and American bias in favor of Israeli positions”.
The movement said in a statement that the US official’s remarks represented blatant interference in internal Palestinian affairs and were aimed at sabotaging the Palestinian group’s reconciliation process.
Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasmeh told Al Jazeera that the agreement is an “internal Palestinian matter” that will help bring peace.
“The deal that we signed with Hamas talks about building a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, borders – which is in line with international law,” Qawasmeh said when asked about Greenblatt’s comments.
Earlier in the day, in a statement echoing Israel’s position, Greenblatt had said “any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognise the state of Israel, accept previous agreements and obligations between the parties – including to disarm terrorists – and commit to peaceful negotiations.
