A senior Fatah official on Sunday told Ma'an that there was never any agreement that the Palestinian unity government would last only six months, hours after a Hamas spokesman said the government's term had expired.
Faisal Abu Shahla said that the national consensus government was assigned to carry out a number of tasks, including holding elections, "within at least six months," but that it was never agreed that the government term would end if it did not complete those tasks within that time frame.
"If the Hamas movement has retracted the reconciliation agreement and the termination of rivalry, that is a different case," Abu Shahla said.
The Fatah official added that further reconciliation discussions were pending a response from Hamas regarding the attacks with explosives against Fatah leaders' property in Gaza and the cancellation of a ceremony commemorating the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza City in early November.
Earlier Sunday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the six-month mandate of the national consensus government had ended.
Any decision on whether the government should be disbanded or continued or be reshuffled must be made only through national dialogue and consensus, Abu Zuhri said.
If Hamas declares "unity" to be dead, that pretty much means it is dead.On a related topic, Hamas and the PA are arguing over payment for fuel for Gaza. Hamas wants a discount and is blaming the PA for not paying fpr enough fuel at a time to ensure the Gaza power plant can run.