From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Report: PA, Hamas agree to form committee to run post-war Gaza
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The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have signed a document agreeing to form a joint committee that would run the post-war Gaza Strip, the London-based pan-Arab news site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.
The news site says it has a copy of the document that was signed to formulate the committee, to be made of 10-15 leading Palestinian figures.
The report comes a day after Egypt’s foreign minister said that rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas were in Cairo for talks seeking to bring post-war Gaza under the full control of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.
Gaza has been under the authority of Hamas since it used force to take the territory in 2007 from the Fatah movement, which currently rules over parts of the West Bank under the PA. Repeated attempts at mending the rift between Fatah and Hamas have failed, wrecked by the factions’ bitter rivalry over power.
The talks are part of Egypt’s broader mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.
The document laid out six commitments largely designed to unite the West Bank and Gaza under one political entity.
They would be responsible for overseeing health and economic services, agriculture and vital infrastructure.
It was unclear if Israel would agree to the deal being formulated. Israel rejects any role by Hamas in Gaza after the war is ended, and has said it does not trust the rival PA of Mahmoud Abbas to run the enclave.
The Times of Israel Community.