Hundreds rally in Ramallah demanding Abbas lift sanctions on Gaza

Thousands of Palestinians rallied in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday evening, calling on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to lift punishing sanctions imposed by his government on the Gaza Strip in an effort to weaken the rival administration led by Hamas in the blockaded enclave.

Abbas has implemented a number of punitive measures against the Gaza Strip in an effort to pressure Hamas, including withholding salary payments to thousands of government employees and refusing to pay for the Strip’s electricity.

The measures have led to discontent among the Gaza Strip’s 1.8 million resident, who live under increasingly dire humanitarian conditions with only limited electricity supply, drinkable water and food.

The demonstration in Ramallah’s Al-Manara Square came following calls on social media by artists, journalists and activists, and was one of the biggest shows of solidarity among West Bank Palestinians for their brethren in Gaza.

The rally drew activists of left-wing organizations, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front, and students from Ramallah’s Bir Zeit University, Haaretz reported.

Ralliers chanted slogans against Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, accusing it of being a "contractor of the occupation" and calling for an end to Palestinian security coordination with Israel, Haaretz said. Other slogans included "shame on you, you sold Gaza in dollars," and "with soul and blood, we will save you Gaza."

Small confrontations broke out during the demonstration between protesters and undercover security officials, Ma’an news agency reported.

Posters in support of the Palestinian Authority blaming Hamas for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza were hung towards the end of the demonstration, claiming that the PA has paid $17 billion to Gaza since 2007.

Multiple reconciliation attempts between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have failed, most recently an Egyptian-brokered deal signed last October.

The fate of Hamas’ 25,000-strong standing army has been a major obstacle to the success of the reconciliation accord, with the group having rejected outright disarming as part of the agreement.

It was hoped that reconciliation could alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza as well as offer a strategy for the Palestinians to face down an increasingly hostile US administration and right-wing Israeli government.

Hamas won 2006 parliamentary elections but Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah and much of the international community refused to accept the result, leading to increased strife.

A year later, Hamas violently seized control of Gaza.

(Staff with agencies)