Hamas Threatens Al-Aqsa Brigades Over Violation

According to the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency, the Hamas-led government in Gaza threatened to take measures against anyone who violates the ceasefire. This came in response to a rocket attack launched by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades against the Israeli town of Sderot. Hamas claims that the Al-Aqsa Brigades, an armed wing of the group's political rival Fatah, was not acting on behalf of the Palestinian national interest, and its actions could jeopardize the ceasefire by providing Israel with a pretext for maintaining the embargo against Gaza.

While the Al-Aqsa Brigades claim the attack was in response to Tuesday's killing of a PIJ commander and the ceasefire not being extended to include the West Bank, could this move in fact be part of a Fatah strategy to exploit the Gaza truce to its own political advantage?

Ma’an also reported the formation of a crisis unit, comprised of various Palestinian factions, to monitor the truce. The creation of the body was announced by Sa’id Siyam, described as the Foreign Minister of the Hamas-run de facto government. While the creation of a multi-party monitoring unit is a step in the right direction, it seems that the current truce in Gaza will indeed test the ability of the Palestinian factions to maintain some semblance of unity over the conditions of the ceasefire. Is Hamas capable of leading such an effort?