On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency, WAFA, published criticism President Mahmoud Abbas made of Hamas during a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before removing any mention of the militant group without any explanation.

As reported by WAFA, President Abbas said, "Hamas' policy and actions do not represent the Palestinian people, and the policies, programs, and decisions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) represent the Palestinian people as their sole legitimate representative."

But hours later, the statement was changed to read that "the policies, programs, and decisions of the PLO are representative for the Palestinian people alone, as it is its sole legitimate representative and not any other body's policies." The removal of references from Hamas went unexplained, with no immediate comment from Abbas' office, Wafa, or Hamas.

Abbas' Palestinian Authority wields limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has long been an adversary of Hamas, which it drove from Gaza in 2007 after a brief civil war. Repeated attempts at reconciliation between the two rival groups have failed. Abbas is also president of the PLO, an umbrella organization that represented Palestinians in previous U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations with Israel.

During the conversation, President Abbas expressed to Maduro his rejection of casualties that occurred on both sides, in addition to appealing to the release of civilians, prisoners, and detainees reported by WAFA.