GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Gaza's ruling Hamas movement says it will not be cowed by threatened funding cuts, signaling escalating tensions between the militant group and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas has threatened to take "unprecedented" financial steps to force Hamas to cede control in Gaza, a territory it seized from him in 2007. Reconciliation attempts between rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza have failed.
Khalil al-Haya, the second highest ranking Hamas leader in Gaza, told The Associated Press Wednesday that Abbas will fail "if he tries to make Gaza kneel or expects to win our loyalty by force."
He spoke as Abbas convened advisers to consider further wage and subsidy cuts for Gaza.
Abbas meets President Donald Trump next week and will likely be asked if he speaks for all Palestinians.
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