The political gap between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip has widened after the Palestinian Supreme Court ruled last week that municipal polls would not be held in the latter, according to a senior Hamas official.
In exclusive comments to Anadolu Agency, Basem Naim, a former health minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run government, said the decision -- in which Gaza’s courts were deemed "illegitimate" -- had further eroded chances for reconciliation between the two territories.
"The decision of the court is a real catastrophe," said Naim, who heads the Gaza-based Council on International Relations.
"Before the decision of the court, there was a division between Gaza and Ramallah -- but it was a political division," he asserted. "Today, after the court's decision, it's not only a political division -- it is a political plus a legal division."