Fatah and Hamas close to agreement on technocrat committee to run postwar Gaza

Administration will have no security or political role in move that would signal end of Hamas rule in enclave

Khan Younis has been devastated by Israel’s offensive. Will Israel allow the proposed committee to operate in postwar Gaza? AFP

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Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah are close to reaching an agreement on the creation of a non-partisan committee of technocrats to run postwar Gaza, including the strip's land crossing with Egypt, sources told The National on Tuesday.

A draft, two-page document on the mandate and the composition of the committee seen by The National states that the committee's work will commence after all Palestinian factions meet in Cairo at the invitation of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to finalise the agreement. It did not say when the meeting would take place.

They said three days of talks in Cairo between Hamas and Fatah have produced significant progress towards an agreement on the committee, which, according to the document, will run Gaza's education, economy, health care, agriculture and relief work, as well as dealing with the impact of the war on the coastal enclave, now in its 15th month.

The committee would have no political or security role and would effectively end Hamas's rule of the coastal enclave, the sources said.

The committee, according to the document, will also run the Palestinian side of the Rafah land crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the only gate the enclave has to the outside world that is not controlled by Israel, which in May captured the border point along with a strip of land that runs the length of the Egypt-Gaza border on the Palestinian side.

However, the sources said Israel would screen people going through the Rafah crossing in both directions, oversee the distribution of humanitarian assistance and monitor reconstruction efforts. Israel has repeatedly maintained it will have an open-ended security role in Gaza after the war.

It is not immediately clear whether Israel will allow the committee to operate in Gaza given its repeated assertions that it will not tolerate a role there by either the PA or Hamas. However, the sources said while Israel may have somewhat softened its position on the PA, it remains adamant the war in Gaza will not end until Hamas is eradicated.

Hamas and Fatah, the dominant faction in the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, have been at sharp odds for close to 20 years. Hamas violently seized Gaza in 2007 following a brief war against Fatah and has since ruled the territory alone.

Repeated mediation attempts over the years by Egypt and others to reconcile the two factions have failed. The pair often trade accusations and question each other's legitimacy, which would make the agreement on running postwar Gaza, if followed through, a milestone development in Palestinian affairs.

The document seen by The National on Tuesday stipulates that the committee will report to the PA in Ramallah and comprise 10-15 independent members “known for their expertise, integrity and transparency”.

The committee, whose members will be selected by consensus, will continue to function until a general election is held in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the document said.

On reconstruction, the committee will create a fund that donor nations will supervise and include a representative of the Palestinian Finance Ministry, it said.

The US has called for a revitalised PA to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government is firmly opposed to Palestinian statehood.

The PA, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank, recognises Israel and co-operates with it on security matters, a policy that is deeply unpopular among Palestinians. For its part, Israel says the authority has not done enough to combat militancy or curb incitement.

The committee would assume its responsibilities after a ceasefire agreement with Israel, a Hamas official was quoted as saying by AP on Tuesday.

The US and its close Arab allies Egypt and Qatar have spent nearly a year trying without success to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas ignited the Gaza war when its fighters attacked Israel in October last year, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250. At least 100 hostages remain inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are said by Israel's military to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 44,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, Gaza health authorities say. The offensive has levelled much of the coastal territory and displaced the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents.