Officials of the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah faction sat down with Hamas terrorists in Cairo in recent days for talks on the establishment of a body to manage Gaza after the conclusion of Israel’s war there, the Jewish state’s Kan News public broadcaster reported on Monday.
Citing an Egyptian source with knowledge of the talks, Kan reported they were intended to bring about reconciliation between Judea and Samaria, where Fatah holds sway over the areas where the great majority of the Arab population lives (except for areas where Hamas is deeply embedded), and Gaza, which was fully-controlled by Hamas until it was unseated by the Israeli army in recent months.
The source claimed that Hamas is willing to accept that it will not be the sole ruler in Gaza, particularly in light of Cairo’s demand that the P.A.’s control be restored to advance the prospect of a two-state solution.
Earlier on Monday, Qatar’s Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted an unnamed Hamas official as saying that the talks yielded a deal to form a committee composed of independent “Palestinian” leaders.
According to the outlet, the Hamas terrorist delegation presented a detailed plan for the governing committee, which reportedly will start its work as soon as P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas gives the green light.
Last month, a P.A. official told Reuters that the terrorist groups were in negotiations to form a committee to run Gaza and manage its border crossings after talks for a unity government faltered. At the time, the committee’s form and duties remained unclear, the P.A. official said.
On Sept. 25, P.A. Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa announced that Fatah had agreed to meet with Hamas in the Egyptian capital. Mustafa said the discussion would focus on forging initial deals “to arrange the situation” in Gaza. He confirmed his “readiness to administer the Gaza Strip the day after the war,” the Ma’an News Agency reported, “without excluding anyone.”
In July, Hamas and Fatah announced a unity deal following talks in Beijing. The declaration was approved by 14 terrorist factions that took part in negotiations hosted by Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister.
“Today, we sign an agreement, and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity,” Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk said at the time. “We are committed to national unity, and we call for it.”
The U.S. State Department, which has been pushing for P.A. control over the Strip after the war, despite the P.A.’s ongoing support for terrorists and terrorism in particular with their “Pay for Slay” program, had rejected a government that includes Hamas.
“Hamas has long been a terrorist organization. They have the blood of innocent civilians—both Israeli and Palestinian—on their hands,” Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, told reporters on July 23. “There can’t be a role for a terrorist organization.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has insisted that an “effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority” should govern Gaza—a move that Israel rejects because of Ramallah’s overt support for terrorism.
According to recent Arab polls, 89% of PA Arabs support establishing a government that includes or is led by Hamas. Only 8.5% said they favor an authority that is controlled exclusively by the Fatah faction.
