Hamas, Fatah agree to have a joint committee run post-war Gaza
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The initiative comes at a time of renewed diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza war.
PHOTO: AFP
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CAIRO - Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party have agreed to create a committee to jointly run post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said on Dec 3.
Under the plan, which needs Mr Abbas’ approval, the committee would be composed of 10 to 15 non-partisan figures with authority on matters related to the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid and reconstruction, according to a draft of the proposal seen by AFP.
Following talks in Cairo brokered by Egypt, the two rival factions agreed that the committee would administer the Palestinian side of the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt – the territory’s only crossing not shared with Israel.
Fatah’s delegation, led by central party committee member Azzam al-Ahmad, was set to return to Ramallah on Dec 3 to seek Mr Abbas’ final approval, negotiators from both sides told AFP.
The Hamas delegation was headed by politburo member Khalil al-Hayya.
The initiative comes at a time of renewed diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza war, which was sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack
These efforts, led by the US together with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, come nearly a week after a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold in Lebanon.
Hamas and Fatah have been bitter rivals since Hamas fighters ejected Fatah from the Gaza Strip after deadly clashes that followed Hamas’ resounding victory in a 2006 election.
Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, while the secularist Fatah movement controls the Palestinian Authority and has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
As US President Joe Biden’s administration prepares to hand over power in January to President-elect Donald Trump, Palestinians face intense US pressure to ensure Hamas will have no role in Gaza once the war ends.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history, made Hamas’ destruction in Gaza one of its main war objectives. It has also repeatedly expressed strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority playing any role in the Gaza Strip after the war.
The Israel-Hamas war has resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has led to at least 44,466 deaths, also mostly civilians, according to data from Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable.
Hamas said on Dec 2 that 33 hostages in Gaza had been killed during the almost 14-month-old war between the Palestinian group and Israel in the enclave, without giving their nationalities. Other hostages had gone missing, Hamas added. AFP, REUTERS
