World Bulletin / News Desk 

A Palestinian unity government was sworn in exactly a year ago on Tuesday, a measure that many say has failed.

The unity government had four man objectives: end the seven years of the division between the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas; hold fresh presidential and legislative elections; end Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and reconstruct the battered Gazan enclave.

“The Palestinian unity government failed to carry out its functions because it has not implemented what was agreed upon in the Al-Shate agreement,” Palestinian MP Mustafa Barghouti told Anadolu Agency.

Failure to hold legislative and presidential elections within six months was one of the main factors that inhibited healing the divisions between Fatah and Hamas.

Barghouti said the two factions should end the differences that serve Netanyahu’s aim of annexing the West Bank and separating it from the Gaza Strip.

Bassam al-Salhi, secretary-general of the Palestinian People's Party, told Anadolu Agency the national unity government failed to carry out its tasks last year and should work to change this reality.

“The government should hold legislative and presidential elections in order to block Netanyahu who is aiming to isolate the West Bank from the Gaza Strip,” he said. “But unfortunately, we have to say that the current indicators do not show any positive changes in dealing with this government, whether from Fatah or Hamas.”

Lawmaker Qais Abdul Karim said both Fatah and Hamas lack the political will to end the Palestinian division.

“The Palestinian street is at the brink of a mass explosion and can no longer cope with the current reality. The leadership has to meet the demands of all Palestinians,” Abdul Karim, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said.

The Palestinian reconciliation is unforthcoming a year after the “Al-Shate’” agreement was reached between Fatah and Hamas on April 23, 2014, at the home of Ismail Haniyeh, the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau.

Hani Al-Masri, head of the Palestinian Center for Policy Research & Strategic Studies – Masarat, said what happened was division management as opposed to an agreement that could end the consequences of years of division.

“Hamas is responsible for this disruption. It should give the unity government the opportunity to manage the affairs of the Gaza strip,” he told.

The Palestinian unity government says it has yet to assume most of its functions in the Gaza Strip due to the presence of a Hamas “shadow government,” a charge Hamas has consistently denied.