cairo —

Islamist group Hamas on Friday criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for “unilaterally” appointing an ally and business leader as prime minister to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA) and rebuild Gaza.

Mohamed Mustafa’s appointment follows growing pressure to reform the governing institutions of the occupied Palestinian territory and improve governance in the occupied West Bank, where it is located.

Hamas said the decision was taken without consulting it, despite its participation in recent meetings in Moscow, where Abbas’ Fatah movement also took part, to end the erosion of Palestinian political aspirations. long-term differences.

“We express our refusal to continue this practice, which has caused and continues to cause harm to our people and our national cause,” Hamas said in a statement.

“Making individual decisions without national consensus and adopting superficial and empty approaches such as forming a new government will only strengthen unilateralist policies and deepen divisions.”

The report added that during a time of war with Israel, Palestinians need a unified leadership to prepare for free and democratic elections involving all sectors of society.

In the West Bank, Fatah hit back at Hamas’s criticism of Abbas, accusing Hamas of unilaterally carrying out what has happened to Gaza since the “October 7 adventure.”

“Has Hamas consulted the Palestinian leadership when negotiating with Israel and made concessions in return for ensuring the physical security of its leader?” the Fatah statement said.

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As president, Abbas remains by far the most powerful figure in the Palestinian Authority, but the new government’s appointments signal a willingness to meet international demands for government changes.

Mustafa, who helped organize Gaza’s reconstruction after the last conflict, is assigned to lead relief and reconstruction efforts in the area, which has been devastated by more than five months of war, and to reform the Palestinian Authority, according to the designation letter. mechanism.

He replaces former Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, who resigned with his government in February.

Arab and international efforts have failed to reconcile Hamas and Fatah, which form the backbone of the Palestinian Authority since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, a move that weakened Abbas’s grip on the Israeli occupation. of West Bank power.

Palestinians hope the two territories will form the core of a future independent state.

Hamas said any attempt to exclude it from the political arena after the war was “delusional.”

In a recent warning, a security official told a Hamas-linked news website that attempts by tribal or community leaders to cooperate with Israel’s plans to govern Gaza would be considered “treason” and would be met with an “iron fist.”

But the group has denied media reports that it has killed a number of local tribal leaders in recent days for interfering in aid distribution.