RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestinian government on Tuesday called on Hamas group to surrender control of the Gaza Strip.

The call comes one week after the convoy of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah struck a roadside bomb during a visit to the blockaded territory.

In a statement following its weekly meeting in Ramallah, the government described the attack as “cowardly” and “does not represent the culture of the people of Gaza”.

This attempt “aims to completely undermine efforts to end the [Palestinian] division and achieve national reconciliation", it said, adding that the attack only “serves the interests of the Israeli occupation”.

Last week, Hamdallah called on Hamas to hand over responsibility for security in the Gaza Strip to the Ramallah-based government.

Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 after days of street fighting with forces of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.