Palestinian Authority officials are poised to meet with Hamas terrorists in Egypt next week to discuss the day after the war in Gaza, Mohammad Mustafa, the authority’s prime minister, stated on Wednesday.
The scheduled meeting, which Mustafa confirmed in a statement to the Maan news agency, comes amid Saudi reports that the two factions have reached an understanding on a joint “civil administration” in the enclave.
The Palestinian official said the discussion will focus on forging initial agreements “to arrange the situation in the Gaza Strip.” He also confirmed Ramallah’s “readiness to administer the Gaza Strip the day after the war,” Maan reported, “without excluding anyone.”
A Hamas source told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya on Thursday that the terror group already agreed to a joint administration in the Strip, claiming that Hamas accepted a Palestinian Authority proposal, under which it would cede control of the enclave’s border crossings with Egypt and Israel.
The source told Al-Arabiya that talks were still being held with the authority’s governing Fatah faction to hash out “the form of management” of Gaza.
Among the options that are reportedly under discussion are an independently-led “administrative body,” a “government of technocrats” approved by all Palestinian terror organizations and “the formation of a local body under the supervision of the current government,” meaning Hamas.
In July, Hamas and Fatah announced a unity deal following talks in Beijing. The declaration was approved by 14 terror 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 terrorist Musa Abu Marzouk stated at the time. “We are committed to national unity, and we call for it.”
The U.S. State Department, which has been pushing for Palestinian Authority control over the Strip, rejected the idea of a unity government including 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 U.S. State Department spokesman, told reporters at a press briefing 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 polls, 89% of Palestinians supports establishing a government that includes or is led by Hamas. Only 8.5% said it favors an authority controlled exclusively by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah.
(JNS)