Abbas’s deputy: We agreed with Hamas that committee to administer Gaza will be headed by PA minister

Hussein al-Sheikh, deputy to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, tells Sky News Arabia that Hamas and the PA reached an agreement in Cairo that the temporary committee to manage the Gaza Strip will be headed by a minister representing the Palestinian Authority.

However, al-Sheikh did not elaborate on whether other parties, such as the United States or Israel, have agreed to the arrangement.

Five days ago, Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that Hamas had agreed with the PA that a minister representing the PA would head the committee.

Media outlets have recently reported that one of the candidates to lead the committee is Majed Abu Ramadan, currently the PA health minister, originally from Gaza and a former mayor of Gaza City.

Al-Sheikh also says in the interview that it was agreed the committee should be composed entirely of Palestinians (and not foreigners), and that further “clarifications” are needed regarding the nature of the international stabilization force expected to be deployed in the Strip — for example, who will make up the force.