Palestinian PM Hamdallah plans Gaza visit after Hamas concessions

Palestinian Auhtority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah is poised to visit Gaza for talks, a senior official says, after Hamas agreed on steps toward resolving a decade-long split with its West Bank-based rival Fatah.

Hamas announced Sunday it had agreed to demands by PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party to dissolve what is seen as a rival administration in Gaza, while saying it was ready for elections and negotiations towards forming a unity government.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, Tuesday, April 21, 2015 (AP/Dita Alangkara)

Hamdallah plans to travel to Gaza City to meet Hamas officials and assert the government’s control over ministries, Nabil Shaath, a senior advisor to Abbas, tells journalists in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as a first step towards implementing a larger agreement.

“We await the first steps on the ground. We want to see Mr Hamdallah received by Hamas, the door to all the ministries open,” he says. “That really could happen in the next 24 hours.”

— AFP

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