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Hamas says reached deal with Palestinian rival Fatah

 

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah (L) shakes hands with Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

 

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have reached a deal over political reconciliation, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement on Thursday, without providing further details about the accord brokered by Egypt.

 

A Hamas official told Reuters that details are expected to be released at a noon news conference in Cairo, where unity talks between the rival factions began on Tuesday.

 

The Western-backed mainstream Fatah party lost control of Gaza to Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the West and Israel, in fighting in 2007. But last month Hamas agreed to cede powers in Gaza to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah-backed government.

 

"Fatah and Hamas reached an agreement at dawn today upon a generous Egyptian sponsorship," Haniyeh said in a statement.

 

Egypt has helped mediate several attempts to reconcile the two movements and form a power-sharing unity government in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas and Fatah agreed in 2014 to form a national reconciliation government, but despite that deal, Hamas's shadow government continued to rule the Gaza Strip.

 

"We congratulate our Palestinian people on the reconciliation agreement reached in Cairo. We make every effort possible to implement it to start a new chapter in the history of our people," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Reuters.

 

Hamas agreed to hand administrative powers in Gaza to a Fatah-backed government last month. The move was a major reversal for Hamas, prompted partly by the group’s fears of potential financial and political isolation after its main donor Qatar suffered a major diplomatic crisis with key allies.

 

Delegations from the two rivals have been in talks in Cairo this week to work out the details of the administrative handover, including security in Gaza and at border crossings.

 

Under the deal, 3,000 Fatah security officers will join the Gaza police force. But Hamas would still have the most powerful armed Palestinian faction, whose estimated 25,000 well-equipped fighters have fought three wars with Israel since 2008.

 

Both rivals hope the deal’s proposed deployment of security personnel from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority to Gaza’s borders will encourage Egypt and Israel to lift their tight restrictions at border crossings, a much needed step to help Gaza revive its economy.

 

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and; Hesham Hajali in Cairo; Writing by Eric Knecht and Patrick Markey; Editing by Michael Perry and Catherine Evans)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-12

[Srikcir]

2018 may be the year of a Palestinian State.

That should cheer both Trump and Netanyahu who both have declared their support for a 2-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

[Grouse]

Benny Yahoo will be as mad as a wet hen ?

[William T]

That will give Netanyahu another excuse not to negotiate with the Palestians because they have a "terrorist organisation' in their midst.

[William T]

2 hours ago, Srikcir said:

2018 may be the year of a Palestinian State.

That should cheer both Trump and Netanyahu who both have declared their support for a 2-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

While Netanyahu has been doing everything he could to make sure a viable Palestinian State could never happen by building and expanding settlements in the West Bank. He has announced more to come.

[Morch]

4 hours ago, Srikcir said:

2018 may be the year of a Palestinian State.

That should cheer both Trump and Netanyahu who both have declared their support for a 2-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

 

No chance of that happening next year, as I'm certain you're aware.

 

There are currently no negotiations, and even if there were, they'd take quite a while. There are no indications that even if they were conducted, sides are closer to an agreement. Further, the political balance on both sides is rather delicate, and leaders, even if they were committed to the peace process, would have a hard time consolidating position and support.

 

Election bids on either side are a likely possibility, with each instance marking up to a few months of inaction, and an opening for hardliners to derail things further. Then there are Trump's troubled term and them mid-term elections.

[Morch]

2 hours ago, William T said:

That will give Netanyahu another excuse not to negotiate with the Palestians because they have a "terrorist organisation' in their midst.

 

Excuse how? What would be the point of negotiating with a government who cannot deliver or impose terms? What meaning would negotiating with a government speaking in two voices? This is actually one of the few issues on which Netanyahu is not expected to face much external pressure. And like it or not, the Hamas is a terrorist organization.

 

1 hour ago, William T said:

While Netanyahu has been doing everything he could to make sure a viable Palestinian State could never happen by building and expanding settlements in the West Bank. He has announced more to come.

 

Netanyahu does not have any clear intention of letting a Palestinian state come about, and on the other hand. not much of a viable plan as to dealing with the reality - them millions of Palestinians who aren't going anywhere. While the actual construction will  not be equal to the statements made, its still an ongoing damaging factor with regard to any solution.

 

 

 

[Morch]

Announcements, handshakes, and photo-ops aside - the so-called "deal" is really a preliminary step, which is yet to be realized. To put things in perspective, the bits broadly agreed on, which pertain to the daily administration of the Gaza Strip are yet to be ironed out. And these are the easier parts...

 

Such issues as control over Hamas's military wing and weapon stocks were not discussed, and obviously not agreed upon. Statements from both sides on this are contradictory - Hamas officials saying control will not be relinquished, while their PA counterparts refuse to accept an independent militia answering to a political party rather than the government. There will be talks held end of November (again in Cairo) to try and sort this, but just how isn't too clear.

 

Further matters not discussed and scheduled to be addressed later on (when...?) relate to formulating a unified policy and stand with regard to Palestinian goals. So once more, key issues are left for a later date, as sides struggle with trivial ones.

 

So far, this plays out pretty much as previous attempts at Palestinian reconciliation. Not many reasons for optimism with regard to the outcome.