Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Photo: www.israellycool.com.

JNS.org – In wake of the ouster of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-controlled government and President Mohamed Morsi, Fatah officials express hope that the Palestinians living in Gaza will oust Hamas from power there.

Hamas, which began as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood more than 25 years ago, is the Islamic terror organization that has controlled Gaza since its overthrow of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in 2007.

“Now it’s Gaza’s turn to get rid of the Muslim Brotherhood branch,” said one Fatah official, the Jerusalem Post reported. “The dark era of political Islam has ended. The era of hypocrisy and lies has ended and Gaza will soon witness its own revolution against Hamas.”

Another Fatah official expressed hope that this will lead to Palestinian unity.

“We hope that the historic victory of the Egyptian people’s will would help our people get rid of the destructive division and restore national unity,” Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf said in an indirect reference to Hamas’s control over the Gaza Strip, according to the Jerusalem Post.

In his statement on the events in Egypt, Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas did not directly mention his rivals, Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood, but instead congratulated the Egyptian people.

“In the name of the Palestinian people and its leadership I congratulate the Egyptian leadership in this transitional phase of its history,” Abbas said, according to the PA’s official news agency, Wafa.

Meanwhile, Hamas officials said that they are not worried about the fall of their fellow Islamists in Egypt, but instead fear for Egypt’s security.

“We do not fear the fall of President Mohamed Morsi,” Hamas leader Ahmad Yousef told Ma’an News Agency. “We fear the dramatic changes that could cause things to go out of hand and lead to bloodshed.”