Palestine | Rivals Hamas, Fatah reach preliminary deal on governing Gaza

From left in front row, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar, Head of Palestinian General Intelligence Majid Faraj, Head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and an Egyptian mediator hold their hands up during a meeting in Gaza City earlier this month

Rival groups Hamas and Fatah have reached a preliminary, partial agreement that could pave the way for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume governing the Gaza Strip, a decade after Hamas overran the territory, officials close to Egyptian- brokered negotiations said yesterday.

Details of the deal were to be presented at a news conference in Cairo early today [Macau time].

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the agreement was reached under “generous Egyptian auspices,” but provided no details.

A senior Palestinian official said Abbas, the leader of Fatah, might visit Gaza in the coming weeks, depending on a successful implementation of the agreement. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement in Cairo.

The Western-backed Abbas hasn’t set foot in Gaza since 2007, when the Islamic militant Hamas, his main ideological rival, seized the territory in street battles with his loyalists.

The Hamas takeover, which came a year after the group defeated Fatah in Palestinian parliament elections, left Abbas with autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Hamas, meanwhile, became increasingly isolated, as Israel and Egypt enforced a Gaza border blockade of the coastal strip.

Over the past decade, each side deepened control over its territory, making it increasingly difficult to forge compromises and repeated attempts at reconciliation failed.

The preliminary deal being announced yesterday came after two days of talks between Hamas and Fatah in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Under the emerging agreement, Hamas would hand over responsibilities of governing Gaza to the West Bank-based government of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

Officials close to the talks said the sides agreed to set up committees to work out the details — in the past a mechanism that quickly led to deadlock.

One committee would have four months to determine who among thousands of Hamas civil servants would be able to join the new government. Another committee would merge 3,000 Palestinian Authority loyalists into Gaza’s Hamas-run police force.

Negotiators also agreed that control of the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt would be handed to Hamdallah’s government, said a senior Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity, also pending the formal announcement.

He said both sides agreed that European monitors could be deployed at the border crossing.

A permanent opening of the Rafah crossing would mean an end to the crippling Gaza border blockade which prevents free trade and bars the vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million people from leaving the territory. Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing only sporadically since 2007.

Key issues were not addressed in the Cairo talks.

A major sticking point has been the Hamas military wing and its arsenal. Abbas has said he would only return to Gaza if Hamas hands over power, while Hamas has said the military wing is not up for discussion. Hamas officials have assured the Fatah negotiators that the military wing would maintain a low profile as part of any deal.

It’s not clear if this will satisfy Abbas, or if the dispute will re-emerge later on.

The Hamas official said Hamas, Fatah and smaller Palestinian factions would meet early next month to discuss other issues related to Palestinian reconciliation, including holding long- overdue parliamentary and presidential elections.

Hamas and Fatah would return to Cairo in early December to assess implementation of the agreement, the official said.

In the current context, both sides might be more willing to reach a deal than in the past.

Struggling with the fallout from the border blockade, Hamas has found it increasingly difficult to govern or provide basic services, such as electricity, to Gaza’s people.

The 82-year-old Abbas, meanwhile, might be thinking about his legacy. The political split has been a major stain on his rule, particularly at a time when attempts to negotiate the terms of Palestinian statehood with Israel seem to be going nowhere.

Abbas heads the political camp that seeks to establish a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 war.

Hamas suggested in a new political manifesto earlier this year that it might consider a state in pre-1967 lines as an interim option, but also endorses an Islamic state in historic Palestine, including what is now Israel. The group refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel. Fares Akram & Mohammed Daraghmeh, Gaza City, AP