The Hamas terrorist group replaced top officials in the mechanism it uses to run the Gaza Strip, Channel 7 reported on Wednesday citing the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar.
The newspaper suggested that the reason for the changes is the failure of attempts to resolve the clash with Fatah, which controls parts of the West Bank, and severe criticism leveled at the terrorist organization for its failure to provide civic services to the people of Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority, which is controlled by Fatah, had been in conflict with Hamas ever since it won the 2006 Palestinian elections of parliament, winning 74 seats to Fatah's 45. The clash eventually led to Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007 after a series of armed conflicts with Fatah and the collapse of the Palestinian unity government. The factions had been in conflict since.
Increasing poverty and worsening public health in the Gaza Strip led to Qatar agreeing to finance some of the immediate costs of maintaining basic services in the Hamas controlled coastal enclave. The payments, meant for poor families living under the control of the terrorist group, were taken by Hamas in June.