Hamas has instructed its followers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be on high alert following unconfirmed reports that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party are planning a coup against the Hamas government on Saturday. Sources close to Hamas told The Jerusalem Post that the Islamic movement was taking these reports seriously and that hundreds of Hamas militiamen would be deployed in strategic areas in the Gaza Strip to foil any attempt to overthrow the Hamas government. Hamas's "Executive Force" in the Gaza Strip has also been placed on high alert and security around top Hamas officials has been beefed up, the sources revealed. According to the sources, Hamas leaders have expressed fear that Fatah gunmen and PA policemen loyal to Abbas would try to occupy a number of PA ministries and institutions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Saturday. "Hamas is convinced that Abbas is planning a coup," the sources added. "It could happen as early as this weekend."
On Thursday afternoon, Abbas summoned four Hamas ministers to his office in Ramallah and assured them that he was not planning a coup against the Hamas government. Abbas also phoned PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to deny the reports.