Governing Gaza


September 30, 2014
Sarah Benton


Fatah’s Azzam al-Ahmad, in red tie, and Hamas’s Mussa Abu Marzuk, gesturing, sit with their delegations in Cairo after talks last Thursday, September 25th. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Rival Factions Set Accord on Gaza’s Future

Hamas, Fatah Agree to Administrative Role for Palestinian Authority, Clearing Way for Aid Funds; a Boost for Abbas

By Joshua Mitnick and Mohammed Najib, WSJ
September 25, 2014

The two main Palestinian factions on Thursday agreed to give the moderate Palestinian Authority a measure of power in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The deal would give the Palestinian Authority its first foothold in Gaza since Hamas seized control in 2007. It boosts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a day before a policy address at the United Nations General Assembly and seeks to reassure international donors ahead of an October conference in Cairo to raise funds to rebuild Gaza.

After a 50-day conflict with Israel this summer, the U.N. and foreign governments have made reinstatement of the Palestinian Authority to an administrative role a central demand to ensure the billions of dollars in aid required to rebuild Gaza would be used for reconstruction rather than for armaments and smuggling tunnels.

Jibril Rajoub, a former Palestinian Authority security chief and a lead negotiator for Mr. Abbas’s Fatah party, said negotiations “led to an agreement over the mechanism to enable the government [to conduct] its duty in Gaza, as well as [a] clear political agenda that will be accepted by the international community.”

Hamas and Fatah formed a joint cabinet in early June that was supposed to oversee the integration of governments in Gaza and the West Bank, but there has been scant progress and they have been bickering over unity efforts since fighting ended, with Fatah officials and Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah accusing Hamas of resisting relinquishing power and blocking efforts at unity.

Among other stipulations, the agreement reached during talks in Cairo calls for Palestinian Authority officials to administer the border crossings with Egypt and Israel, a key demand of Cairo for relaxing restrictions on movement. The agreement calls on the Palestinian Authority to take responsibility for reconstruction in Gaza and for the government to pay the salaries of the tens of thousands of public servants hired by Hamas, which has run out of money and hasn’t issued paychecks for months—the source of friction with Fatah.

The agreement also expresses support for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, which Fatah officials said indicates an endorsement of political negotiations toward a two-state solution.

However, the agreement left unanswered key details on how much governing responsibility the Palestinian Authority will get from Hamas—which has ruled Gaza since 2007—how the two sides will integrate twin bureaucracies into a joint government, and the balance of power.

The agreement also doesn’t specify when the Palestinian Authority will resume control over the border, who will be deployed there and the size of the contingent. Another unknown is how much security control, if any, Hamas will cede to the Palestinian Authority in the rest of Gaza.

The accord says implementation will be left to a joint committee. In the past, the work of those panels has bogged down.

Hamas remains wary that the renewed Palestinian Authority security presence in Gaza could threaten its rule there.

“If the control of the crossing terminals by Fatah security aims to enable the reconstruction of Gaza, then it’s welcomed and acceptable, but if it’s just to take control over Gaza, then it’s rejected,” said Saed Abu Baha, a Hamas spokesman in the West Bank.

This month, the Palestinian Authority, Israel and the United Nations reached an agreement on an oversight mechanism to ensure that reconstruction materials and aid slated for Gaza don’t fall into the hands of militant groups there. That agreement is supposed to involve the deployment of U.N. personnel to monitor aid disbursement.

Thursday’s agreement reflects rising pressure on both factions to show progress on reconciliation, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political-science professor at Gaza’s Al Azhar University.

The deal also reflects rising local pressure on Hamas, which has been criticized by Palestinian bloggers and on local social networks for failing to gain more tangible achievements from the conflict with Israel, which left more than 2,000 dead, about 10,000 wounded and major Gaza infrastructure destroyed.

“The process of rebuilding Gaza will be postponed if Hamas and Fatah didn’t agree,” Mr. Abusada said. “Hamas has been under internal pressure from the Palestinians because we’ve paid a heavy price and nothing has changed. They’re still under siege and there’s massive destruction.”

Although Israeli officials have expressed support for the idea of the Palestinian Authority returning to the Gaza Strip, they are skeptical that Mr. Abbas will be able to wield real control there, especially with regards to Hamas’ military wing.

“I don’t think they are capable of effectively taking over in Gaza,” said Mike Herzog, a former brigadier general and peace negotiator who has advised the government on the indirect cease fire talks with Hamas, speaking before the agreement.

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