By Ola Attalah
GAZA
The Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip has issued an official apology for being unable to provide security for a memorial of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to be held by Fatah on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian faction Hamas said Sunday.
"The Interior Ministry in Gaza has issued an official apology to Fatah movement for being unable to provide security for the festival held to commemorating the tenth anniversary of Arafat's death," leading Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil said in a statement.
Al-Bardawil asserted that that there is no political motive behind not securing the ceremony and that Hamas has nothing to do with the issue.
"Securing the festival is the concern of security agencies and the interior ministry," he added, noting that the ministry took the move due to the lack of fuel and absence of the operational budget needed to properly secure the event.
Earlier in the day, senior Fatah official Yehia Rabah had stated that his movement is moving forward with organizing the festival in spite of a series of blasts that targeted the homes of several Fatah members in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
One of the blasts went off near a stage set up for a planned rally later this month to commemorate Arafat's passing.
The explosions did not cause any casualties but left minor damage to the houses.
Arafat, the founding leader of Fatah, died at the age of 75 at a Paris hospital in 2004. His health had deteriorated markedly after Israeli forces besieged him for several months inside his presidential headquarters in Ramallah.
Some Palestinian factions, including Abbas' Fatah, had accused Israel of fatally poisoning the late Palestinian leader inside his home in Ramallah in 2004.
www.aa.com.tr/en
