Gaza Strip ? Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh criticized the United States on Sunday for restricting diplomatic ties with the Hamas government, saying his people were being punished for electing the militant Islamic group.

Seeking to end chaos in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam pledged the new government would pacify the area but appealed for patience. “Let them bear with us for a year,” he said.

The United States said Friday that American diplomats have been forbidden to make contact with officials in any Palestinian government agency controlled by Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel’s destruction. The Islamic group’s new Cabinet controls every ministry.