Fatah accuses Hamas of blocking PA relief staff in Gaza as floods hit, weeks after Cairo unity talks

Fatah has accused Hamas of blocking Palestinian Authority (PA) staff and aid workers from doing their jobs in Gaza, as floods from the season's first winter storm swept through tent camps. The statement, issued on Monday evening, Nov. 9, answered Hamas criticism that the PA was failing Gaza's residents. It is the latest in a run of public accusations between the two largest Palestinian factions, less than a month after they met in Cairo for unity talks.

Hamas, for its part, has accused PA security forces in the West Bank of arresting former prisoners, activists and civilians. It calls this a "revolving door" policy. Neither side has said the Cairo track is over. But each now says the other's conduct undercuts it.

The dispute plays out as Gaza's governance remains unsettled. Hamas still controls the territory. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a technocratic body backed by the US-led Board of Peace, has not been able to enter. Israel says there will be no reconstruction until Hamas is disarmed.

What Fatah said#

Fatah's statement was issued by its leadership in the "southern governorates," the term the movement uses for Gaza. It was carried in full by the Palestinian news agency Sawa and other Arabic outlets.

"Hamas's accusations that the Authority is falling short in Gaza contradict its practices on the ground and reveal the extent of the misleading of public opinion," the statement said.

Fatah said it condemned Hamas for continuing to blame the PA for "falling short and failing to intervene to save citizens and ease their suffering." It said this came at a time when staff of the Labor Ministry and bodies involved in relief were being summoned and "forced to sign pledges that prevent them from carrying out their professional and humanitarian duties." 567 Politics could not independently confirm those summonses.

"Whoever wants to save citizens must open the way to every national effort, not obstruct or restrict it," the statement said.

The movement also linked the dispute to the reconciliation effort. If these practices continue, it said, they send "a negative and clear message" about efforts to make the national dialog succeed. It said they contradict "the requirements of national partnership, unifying institutions and ending the division."

Fatah said the PA's institutions "belong to the Palestinian people and are not the property of a faction." It said citizens' right to services and aid "must not be subject to political considerations." It called for an end to summoning and pressuring employees and to obstructing government and relief teams.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Fatah described Hamas's earlier accusations as part of a "disinformation campaign." The Post also noted that Fatah has complained before about Hamas summoning its members in Gaza. In February, Fatah said its members Ayman Halawa and Abdelaziz Al-Daour had been summoned, the Post reported.

What Hamas has said#

Hamas has not publicly answered Fatah's Monday statement in sources reviewed by 567 Politics. Its recent public criticism of the PA has focused on arrests in the West Bank.

On Oct. 27, Hamas condemned a wave of arrests by PA security services in several West Bank governorates. It said the arrests, carried out overnight, targeted former prisoners, activists and citizens, according to a statement carried by the Palestinian news agency Safa.

Hamas said the arrests "represent a violation of public freedoms and human rights." It said they compound the suffering of former prisoners and their families, who are pursued and detained again after years in Israeli prisons. The movement said the security services' "revolving door" policy returns released prisoners "to the cycle of arrest and pursuit, instead of providing them protection and support."

Hamas argued that rising attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, and continued strikes in Gaza, call for "unifying Palestinian efforts" rather than "pursuing Palestinians and arresting them." It called for the immediate release of all detainees and an end to political arrests.

The Jerusalem Post, citing the Palestinian Information Center, which is close to Hamas, named six men it said PA forces had arrested, including a released Hamas prisoner. The PA did not comment on those specific cases in the sources reviewed.

In Gaza, Hamas has framed the humanitarian crisis as Israel's responsibility. In a statement on Sunday, Nov. 8, it said the storm damage was the result of "the continued Israeli blockade" and Israel's failure to carry out the humanitarian protocol in the ceasefire deal, Al Jazeera reported. It said hundreds of thousands of displaced people face harsh conditions. It called on mediators to press Israel to let in shelter supplies, and to stop blocking the national committee from entering Gaza.

The Cairo talks#

The two movements met with other factions in Cairo in mid-October. Hamas said on Oct. 17 that it had concluded a round of "national dialog" with Fatah and other factions, according to the Palestinian Information Center.

Hamas said all parties had agreed to continue talks "until reaching common ground." Its delegation was led by Zaher Jabarin, with political bureau members Husam Badran and Ghazi Hammad. Hamas said comprehensive national dialog "remains the only path" to addressing national issues. It said dialog should rest on a shared vision for "rebuilding and reforming" the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) so that all factions take part.

No final reconciliation deal was announced. Fatah's Monday statement suggests the movement sees Hamas's conduct in Gaza as a test of the talks.

1. Oct. 17, 2026Hamas says Cairo round with Fatah and other factions ended with agreement to keep talking
2. Oct. 27, 2026Hamas condemns PA arrests of former prisoners and activists in the West Bank
3. Nov. 6, 2026Winter storm reaches Gaza, flooding tens of thousands of tents
4. Nov. 8, 2026Hamas blames Israel's blockade for storm damage; five die in a sand collapse in Deir al-Balah
5. Nov. 9, 2026Board of Peace calls Israel's response insufficient and urges Hamas to disarm
6. Nov. 9, 2026Fatah accuses Hamas of obstructing PA and relief staff in Gaza
7. Nov. 10, 2026Smotrich says no reconstruction in Gaza without Hamas's full disarmament

Source: Palestinian Information Center, Safa, Al Jazeera, Sawa

The humanitarian backdrop#

The storm that began on Friday evening, Nov. 6, flooded more than 70,000 tents, according to the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, as cited by New York News in Arabic. Gaza's civil defense said a collapse of sand and rock onto tents in Deir al-Balah on Sunday evening killed two women and three children.

Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, told a news conference in Ramallah that some 26,000 families had been affected, according to the same report. He said the UN had received reports of five deaths in the sand collapse and of an infant who drowned at a displacement site. He blamed the destruction of homes and infrastructure by Israel for the humanitarian disaster and called on Israeli authorities to lift all restrictions on aid.

Samah Hamad, the PA's minister of social development, said more than 65% of Gaza's families live in tents and temporary shelters. She said more than 370,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed. She also said 30% of relief and shelter supplies were stuck at crossings because of Israeli restrictions.

Those figures matter to the Fatah-Hamas dispute. Each faction is presenting itself as the one trying to help, and the other as standing in the way.

Israel and the Board of Peace#

The Board of Peace, the US-backed body overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan, said on Monday that Israel's response to the humanitarian situation "remains insufficient," 567 Politics reported. The board also said it had repeatedly pressed Hamas "to agree to lay down its weapons, give up power and fulfill its commitments," Al Jazeera reported. Hamas rejected the board's statement as "a distorted account" of the causes of the disaster.

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza has not been able to enter the territory more than a year after it was formed, the UAE-based news site Erem News reported. Israel wants Hamas disarmed before the committee enters. Hamas wants the committee to enter first, since it would oversee the handover of weapons. The standoff over who governs Gaza has also left local services such as policing in limbo, as 567 Politics has reported.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that Israel was preparing to allow dual-use materials such as cement and pipes into Gaza to repair sewage systems, according to Erem News. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded on Tuesday that "Israel's position is clear and decisive." He said "there will be no reconstruction in the Gaza Strip without the complete dismantling of Hamas's weapons and the full disarmament of the Strip," Erem News reported.

How analysts read the dispute#

Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute, called the friction "troubling," according to The Jerusalem Post. He said Hamas was not allowing PA representatives to keep working with international aid groups. He described this as retaliation for the arrests of Hamas-affiliated people in the West Bank. He also said it reflected fear that Fatah could build a base in Gaza.

Michael said Hamas was "willing to sacrifice its people" to serve "its survival and political existence." Hamas has not responded to his remarks. Its own statements place responsibility for Gaza's conditions on Israel's restrictions on aid and on the PA's arrests in the West Bank.

567 Politics did not find a statement from the PA security services on the Oct. 27 arrests.

The next steps#

No date has been announced for a new round of Cairo talks. Fatah's statement calls on Hamas to stop summoning PA and relief staff. Hamas's statements call on the PA to release detainees and end political arrests. Both say they want national unity.

In Gaza, the Board of Peace and the UN are pressing Israel to let in shelter materials before more storms arrive. Smotrich's comments on Tuesday came in response to the Channel 12 report on dual-use materials, which Israel's government had not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

The Jericho dispute over homes said to have been sold to settlers is another live issue between the PA and Israel this week. 567 Politics has a separate report on the PA's arrests in that case.

Differing perspectives

Who is responsible for the breakdown between Fatah and Hamas over aid in Gaza and arrests in the West Bank?

Each position is summarized as its supporters make it, with equal weight and in alphabetical order. A summary is not an endorsement; the evidence for each is weighed in the story above.

• End PA political arrests in the West Bank

  Who holds it: Hamas

  Hamas says PA security services in the West Bank are arresting former prisoners, activists and citizens, which it calls a violation of public freedoms and human rights. It says this revolving door policy sends released prisoners back into a cycle of arrest instead of protecting them. Hamas argues that Israeli and settler attacks in the West Bank and strikes in Gaza require Palestinians to unite rather than arrest one another, and calls for the release of all detainees.

  In their words: Safa News Agency (Hamas statement) ↗

• Hold Hamas responsible for blocking aid

  Who holds it: Kobi Michael, INSS and Misgav Institute

  Kobi Michael of the Institute for National Security Studies says Hamas is stopping PA representatives from working with international aid groups before winter. He sees this as retaliation for PA arrests of Hamas-affiliated people in the West Bank and as a sign Hamas fears Fatah building a base in Gaza. He argues Hamas is willing to make life harder for Gazans to serve its political survival, and that the world will likely blame Israel for the resulting crisis.

  In their words: The Jerusalem Post ↗

• Let PA and relief staff work in Gaza

  Who holds it: Fatah and its Gaza leadership

  Fatah says Hamas blames the Palestinian Authority for failing Gaza while summoning Labor Ministry and relief staff and forcing them to sign pledges that stop them from working. It calls this a contradiction that misleads public opinion. Fatah says PA institutions belong to the whole Palestinian people, not to a faction, and that aid must not depend on political calculations. It warns that these practices send a negative message about the national dialog and calls for staff to work without threats.

  In their words: Sawa News Agency (Fatah statement) ↗

• Settle disputes through dialog and PLO reform

  Who holds it: Hamas delegation to the Cairo talks

  Hamas says comprehensive national dialog remains the only path to settling national issues and confronting Israeli plans. After the Cairo round, it said all factions agreed to keep talking until they reach common ground and to overcome obstacles from earlier rounds. It argues the dialog must rest on a shared vision for rebuilding and reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization on political and administrative foundations, so that all Palestinian forces and factions take part in national decisions.

  In their words: Palestinian Information Center ↗

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