PALESTINE Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah’s government resigned today in a bid to form a new administration as Fatah’s central committee (FCC) seeks to isolate rivals Hamas.

The FCC wants to form a governing body made up of representatives of various factions in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and independent personalities pushing Hamas aside.

FCC member Azzam al-Ahmad said at the weekend: “We plan to form a new government of factions soon in response to Hamas’s failure to undertake its national responsibility in handing over the Gaza Strip to the legitimate PA [Palestinian Authority],” adding: “Hamas helped form the last government. This time, it will not participate in its formation or be a part of it.”

Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, ousting Fatah a year after it won elections in the strip. Tensions have remained since President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government in 2007.

The Fatah government in the West Bank and the Hamas government in Gaza both regard themselves as the sole legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum opposed the resignation and accused the government of paving the way for the establishment of “a new separatist government” that serves President Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah’s interests, highlighting the divisions between Fatah and Hamas.

The two rival parties had signed multiple agreements to bring Gaza and the West Bank under one government, but have not implemented them.

Further opposition by Hamas questioned the legitimacy of the Fatah-led government.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri tweeted: “The formation of any government apart from a national consensus one is a continuation of the unilateral actions taken by Fatah [...] Such a government will enjoy no legitimacy.”