RAMALLAH, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian national unity government on Tuesday urged Islamic Hamas movement to fully hand over the rule of Gaza Strip to it.
The government said in a press statement after its weekly cabinet meeting that its jurisdiction over the strip "is a national duty, an essential requirement to rescue Gaza from the dangers it faces and not allow Israel to take advantage of the continuation of the internal division."
The statement strongly condemned "the assassination attempt" targeting Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and Intelligence Chief Majid Faraj during their visit to Gaza last week.
On Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Hamas of being responsible for the bombing attack targeting Hamdallah's convoy.
Speaking at the opening of a meeting of the executive committees of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and his Fatah Party's central committee, Abbas warned that if the assassination attempt succeeded, "it would have disastrous results and lead to the outbreak of a Palestinian civil war."
He urged Hamas to fully hand over its administration, including the security, of the enclave to the Palestinian Authority.
An explosion occurred when the convoy of Hamdallah entered the Gaza Strip through the Israeli-controlled Erez checkpoint last Tuesday.
Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that unknown assailants placed a roadside bomb as soon as his convoy entered the Palestinian side of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 after ousting forces loyal to Abbas, has condemned the incident and vowed to conduct investigation into it in order to prosecute the perpetrators.
