A Palestinian man navigates through the debris while carrying a bag of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis within the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. — Reuters
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party have reached an agreement to establish a joint committee to oversee post-war Gaza, according to negotiators from both sides on Tuesday. The proposed plan, pending Abbas's approval, would see the committee comprised of 10 to 15 non-partisan individuals with jurisdiction over economic, educational, health, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction matters, as per a draft proposal reviewed by AFP.
Following discussions in Cairo mediated by Egypt, the two opposing factions concurred that the committee would manage the Palestinian side of the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt—the only crossing not shared with Israel. Fatah's delegation, led by central party committee member Azzam Al Ahmad, is set to return to Ramallah on Tuesday to obtain Abbas's final approval, negotiators from both sides informed AFP. The Hamas delegation was headed by politburo member Khalil Al Hayya.
This initiative coincides with renewed diplomatic endeavors to conclude the Gaza war, ignited by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. These efforts, spearheaded by the United States alongside Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, follow nearly a week since a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in Lebanon. Hamas and Fatah have been long-standing adversaries since Hamas fighters ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip following violent clashes subsequent to Hamas's decisive victory in the 2006 election. Hamas assumed control of Gaza in 2007, whereas the secularist Fatah movement governs the Palestinian Authority and holds partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
As US President Joe Biden's administration prepares for a transition of power in January to president-elect Donald Trump, Palestinians are under significant US pressure to ensure Hamas has no role in Gaza post-war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, has made Hamas's destruction in Gaza a primary war objective. It has also consistently voiced strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority having any involvement in the Gaza Strip after the war. The Israel-Hamas conflict has led to the deaths of 1,208 individuals in the Gaza Strip, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has resulted in at least 44,466 fatalities, also mostly civilians, according to data from Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
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