CAIRO: The two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, have reached a “comprehensive” agreement that would turn over the civil administration of Gaza immediately to officials of a Palestinian unity government led by President Mahmoud Abbas.
The agreement, negotiated in Cairo, is designed to ease the long blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt and open the way to reconstruction of the war-ravaged coastal territory. A recent Palestinian Authority study estimated the cost of reconstruction in Gaza following the 50-day conflict with Israel at $7.8bn.
Palestinian officials said the agreement would allow the Palestinian Authority to take control over the border crossings of the Gaza Strip, including the crucial Rafah crossing into Egypt . According to sources in Egypt close to the talks, Palestinian Authority security forces would also control the Philadelphia corridor, an important strip adjoining the border with Egypt.
Officials from the rival factions began meeting in Cairo on Wednesday to try to overcome their differences and strengthen their hand for talks with Israel scheduled for late next month.
The breakthrough deal would formally bring an end to Hamas’s seven-year rule of Gaza. Hamas asserted its control over the Gaza Strip in 2007 after winning Palestinian legislative elections the year before. “Fatah and Hamas have reached a comprehensive agreement for the unity government to return to the Gaza Strip,” said Jibril Rajoub, a senior official in Fatah.
The Guardian
