The Palestinian movement Hamas and Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have agreed to form a committee to jointly govern post-war Gaza, negotiators from both sides said Tuesday.
Under the plan, which requires Abbas’s approval, the committee would be made up of 10 to 15 non-partisan figures with authority over issues related to the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid and reconstruction, according to a draft proposal seen by AFP.
After talks in Cairo, brokered by Egypt, the two rival factions agreed that the committee would govern the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt — the only crossing in the area not shared with Israel.
A Fatah delegation, led by party central committee member Azzam al-Ahmad, will return to Ramallah on Tuesday to seek final approval from Abbas.
The Hamas delegation was led by political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya.
The initiative comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza. The effort, led by the United States along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, follows nearly a week of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, while the secular Fatah runs the Palestinian Authority and has partial administrative control over the occupied West Bank.
As the administration of US President Joe Biden prepares to hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump in January, the Palestinians are facing intense US pressure to ensure that Hamas has no role in Gaza after the war ends.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, one of the most right-wing in Israeli history, has declared the destruction of Hamas in Gaza one of its main war goals. It has also expressed strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority playing any role in the Gaza Strip after the war.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 44,466 deaths, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Photo: AFP
