Fatah and Hamas: A decade of strained relations, mistrust

GAZA: The handing over of Gaza Strip border crossings by Islamist movement Hamas to the Palestinian Authority yesterday is the latest step in efforts to end a 10-year rift. The split, which has at times erupted into deadly conflict, has seen rival administrations run by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and by president Mahmud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Here is a look back at the history of the dispute:

Islamists win at the polls

In 2006, the Islamists of Hamas take part in elections to the Palestinian parliament for the first time, sweeping to a landslide victory over Abbas’s Fatah movement, which had dominated it since it was established. A unity government is installed with Hamas taking key posts but it is dogged by international demands, rejected by the Islamists, that they renounce violence and recognize Israel and past peace deals.

Hamas seizes Gaza

In early 2007, simmering tensions between the rival factions erupt into bloody clashes in Gaza. After a week of violence in June, Abbas dismisses the unity government and declares a state of emergency in the territory. But Hamas fighters rout pro-Abbas forces and take control, a move the president calls a coup.

Reconciliation stillborn

In April 2011, Fatah and Hamas say they have

reached an understanding to create an interim government to prepare for elections, but implementation is repeatedly delayed. In January 2012, the rivals strike a prisoner exchange agreement. The following month, they agree that Abbas should lead an interim government, but the deal is disputed within Hamas and never implemented. In April 2014, the Abbas-led Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas finally agree on a unity government. It is sworn in on June 2 but fails to exercise authority over Gaza where Abbas accuses Hamas of setting up a parallel administration. In July-August 2014, the factions put up a united front after Israel launches a 50-day blitz against Gaza in response to rocket fire, but the unity government falls apart months later.

Pragmatism

In May 2017, Hamas makes a major revision to its founding charter, easing its stance on Israel after having long called for its destruction. The Islamist group says its struggle is not against Jews but against Israel as an occupier, and accepts the idea of a Palestinian state in territories occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. The group-which remains blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union as well as Israel-is seen as seeking to ease its isolation without marginalizing hardliners in its ranks.

Pressure and concessions Tensions persist over the formation by Hamas of an “administrative committee” in Gaza which is seen as a rival Palestinian government. Abbas puts the squeeze on Hamas including by cutting payments for electricity supplies to the territory. An Egyptian-led reconciliation push receives a major boost when Hamas agrees on September 17 to dissolve the committee and cede civil power, saying it is ready for talks on a new unity government and elections.—AFP