The Hamas seizure of the Gaza Strip was a mistake, said a former spokesman for the Islamist group.
In a letter posted on the rival Fatah Web site, Ghazi Hamad said the takeover resulted in too high a price in international isolation and tight economic sanctions, causing more suffering for the Palestinian people.
“I consider it a serious strategic mistake that burdened the movement with more than it can bear,” Hamad wrote.
The letter was not intended for publication, a Palestinian official told Reuters.
Hamad, considered a moderate, stepped down from his government post after Hamas defeated Fatah security forces in Gaza last summer.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.