JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Authority informed Israel on Thursday that it would no longer pay for the electricity that Israel supplies to the Gaza Strip, in an extraordinary push by the authority to reassert some control after years of rule in Gaza by the militant group Hamas.

The schism between the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas, which seized full control of Gaza in 2007, has left Palestinians deeply divided and has hurt efforts to reach a peace deal with Israel. Palestinian analysts speculated that Mr. Abbas was trying to flex his muscles before an expected meeting with President Trump in the White House, possibly in early May.

Hamas officials denounced the move, describing it as a “dangerous escalation.”

“It is a clear aggression,” Hazim Kassim, a Hamas spokesman, said of the Palestinian Authority’s decision. “Abbas aims to blow up the situation in Gaza.”

The two million residents of Gaza already suffer from acute power shortages, with electricity rationed to about four hours a day. With its own power station out of commission, Gaza is dependent on the electricity lines from Israel, and a smaller, less reliable supply from Egypt.