The deputy head of the Hamas politburo Moussa Abu Marzouq on Friday called upon Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and other ministers in the unity not to cancel their expected visit to the Gaza Strip on Saturday in the wake of a series of attacks on the homes of Fatah leaders in the coastal enclave overnight.
Abu Marzouq condemned the attack in a statement, adding that political factions should be cautious about assigning blame.
"An urgent meeting between Palestinian factions should be conducted to condemn the attack and to unite behind and support Fatah," Abu Marzouq said.
The Hamas leaders comments came immediately after the Palestinian Authority said that the ministers' trip to Gaza had been postponed indefinitely following the strikes, which hit nearly a dozen homes and cars affiliated with top Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip, as well as a platform that had been set up for a Fatah anniversary commemoration of the death of Yasser Arafat.
The Palestinian Authority called the attacks a "criminal act" distant from the Palestinian and national principles and dangerous to the image of the Palestinian cause.
Well-placed Palestinian sources told Ma'an that in addition to the prime minister, Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad and member of Fatah central committee Husein al-Sheikh had canceled their planned visits to the Gaza Strip on Saturday as well.
The PA stressed that despite all the attempts by "criminal groups" to destroy Palestine, the PA will remain at the service of its people's hopes and aspirations and will insist upon upholding its commitments towards Palestinians everywhere.
The Ministry of Interior and National Security in the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, declared that they would be forming an investigation committee that includes members of all security services in order to determine details of the explosions.
The ministry said in a statement that investigation crews had already visited places of explosions immediately following the blasts to collect evidence and witnesses testimonies.
The statement added that the ministry will not allow internal conflicts to re-erupt, and that necessary procedures will be conducted.
The blasts have thrown the situation in Gaza into doubt, as parties from across the political spectrum have denied responsibility with the Palestinian Authority has said that those who carried out the attacks are trying to undermine the government of national consensus.
As of Friday afternoon, all major Palestinian political factions from across the spectrum had condemned the blasts, including an official in a Wahhabi militant group that said an earlier statement claiming responsibility for the Islamic State group was a fraud.
A top leader in the Salafist jihadist movement in Gaza, Abu Motasam al-Moqadassi, said that no jihadist group had carried out the attack, stressing that a letter claiming the attack for IS was fake and that the groups in Gaza did not support such tactics.
Letters claiming to be from IS -- a Wahhabi militant group active in Syria and Iraq -- have previously emerged claiming responsibility for attacks in Gaza, but it is thought that the no such movement exists in the Palestinian enclave and the letters are mere publicity stunts.
The Islamic Jihad movement, meanwhile, condemned the attacks, warning of the dangerous consequences the blasts could have for national unity.
The spokesperson for the Islamic Jihad Daoud Shihab said that those responsible for the attacks had carried out a "big favor" for Israel, especially given that the incident came at a time in which all Palestinian factions had been calling for marches to support the al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front also condemned the attack. A spokesperson for the PPSF, Anwar Jumaa, said that the incident was a "cowardly and suspicious act" aiming to divide Palestinians and sabotage efforts at national unity.
PPSF called upon Hamas to hold its responsibility towards finding those responsible; especially that the Internal Affairs Ministry of the unity government has not started working yet.
The leftist Palestinian People's Party also condemned the attack calling it an "ugly, criminal act."
The PPP called upon specialized sides to find those responsible and bring them to justice.
The leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also condemned the attack, saying that the incident was a "dangerous development" that could lead to internal conflict.
The PFLP called upon all Palestinian factions to uphold their responsibility in addressing these "criminal acts."
The statement called the Gaza Strip security services to find those responsible and bring them to justice and to uphold its responsibility in putting an end to groups that use violence to achieve their goals or impose their visions or opinions.
Ma'an
