PA President Mahmoud 'Abbas said that the visit of Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha'th to Gaza, on February 3-5, 2010, had not been a personal initiative but was in accordance with a decision of the Fatah institutions. This decision states that Gazan members of the PA institutions currently residing in the West Bank must return to Gaza and live there, just as Hamas members live in the West Bank. 'Abbas added, however, that Sha'th's visit with Haniya had been unauthorized.
After his Gaza visit, Nabil Sha'th said that Hamas-Gaza wanted reconciliation, but the movement's leaders in Damascus did not. In response, Hamas Legislative Council member Yahya Moussa said that Hamas was one unified movement with one leadership, and that Sh'ath's statement had undermined all the achievements of his visit.
Sources: Al-Quds (Jerusalem), February 7, 2010; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), www.palestine-info.info, February 6, 2010
