Fatah, Hamas meet in Egypt, discuss post-conflict measures

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• Committee will include independent Palestinian figures to address the question of who will run Gaza
• Hamas official claims party open to proposals that ensure cessation of aggression

CAIRO: Senior officials of the rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to discuss forming a committee to manage Gaza’s post-conflict governance, an Egyptian security source was quoted as saying by Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV on Saturday.

The talks are part of Egypt’s broader mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.

Leaders from Hamas and the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Cairo last month to discuss forming the committee based on a proposal put forward by Egypt, but talks were adjourned for later discussion, sources close to the talks said.

The sources said the committee would be made up of independent Palestinian figures not aligned to a particular movement, addressing the question of who would run Gaza after the year-long conflict is over.

Israel rejects any role by Hamas in Gaza after the conflict is ended and has said it doesn’t trust the rival Palestinian Authority of Abbas to run the enclave either.

Mediators, including Egypt and Qatar with backing from the United States, have so far failed to secure a truce that would end the Gaza conflict and facilitate a release of Israeli and foreign prisoners held by Hamas, along with thousands of Palestinians detained by Israel.

Hamas is pressing for an end to hostilities while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the conflict will continue until Hamas is dismantled.

Hamas political official Izzat al Risheq dismissed proposals of limited or temporary truces as “smokescreens”.

“We are positively open to any proposals or ideas that ensure the cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,” al Risheq said in a statement.

The conflict continues to exact a heavy humanitarian toll, with medics reporting that five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp on Saturday.

Palestinian health officials said at least 60 people had been killed by Israeli military strikes across Gaza Strip since Friday.

Israel’s retaliatory offensives have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced most of Gaza to rubble.

Egyptian proposal

According to Asharq News, the Egyptian proposal suggests forming a governing body for the Gaza Strip, named the “Community Committee to Support the People of Gaza.”

This committee would handle civil affairs, provide and organise the distribution of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the Strip, and oversee the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. In addition, it would initiate reconstruction efforts to address damage caused by the brutal Israeli aggression in Gaza.

During their previous talks, Hamas had proposed that the new committee operate under the collective oversight of all Palestinian factions, ensuring broad representation and collaboration, Asharq News reported.

Meanwhile, Fatah maintained that the committee should be integrated into the Palestinian government structure and officially established through a presidential decree by President Mahmoud Abbas, making the presidency and government its permanent reference points.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2024