World Bulletin/News Desk

The Palestinian faction Hamas on Sunday accused the West Bank-based faction Fatah of inciting the Palestinian people against it and also fanning inter-Palestinian tensions.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Fatah had continued to agitate Palestinians against his movement by claiming that Hamas had stood behind a string of simultaneous bombings of the homes of Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip earlier this month.

He described these claims as "unethical."

"Fatah practices incitement and fuels tensions," Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

He added that some pro-Fatah websites had recently published the names of Hamas members, accusing them of carrying out the  bombings of the Fatah leaders' homes in Gaza.

Abu Zuhri called on Fatah to stop this "incitement", holding it responsible for potential ramifications in this regard.

Relations between Hamas and Fatah deteriorated even more on November 7 when the homes of several Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip were bombed synchronously.

The home bombings came only days before a planned Fatah rally in Gaza to mark the 10 anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Soon after the bombings, Fatah cancelled out the rally and accused Hamas of standing behind them, even as Hamas asked its rival West Bank faction to offer proof of its accusations.

The two factions signed a reconciliation deal in April of this year in the hope of putting an end to divisions that had persisted since 2007.