Hamas agrees to end Gaza authority and Fatah feud

BETHLEHEM: Hamas, the de facto ruling party of the Gaza Strip, has pledged to dissolve its administrative committee that runs the besieged coastal enclave and has expressed readiness to hold general elections in a bid for reconciliation with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA).

Hamas said in a statement the decision came in response to recent diplomatic efforts by Egypt to reconcile the rival factions.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been calling on Hamas to end the administrative committee, relinquish control of the small territory to the Palestinian Authority, and hold presidential and legislative elections.

Hamas and the Fatah-led PA have been embroiled in a conflict since 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections and a bloody conflict between the two groups broke out.

Despite numerous attempts at reconciling the groups, Palestinian leaders have repeatedly failed to follow through on promises of reconciliation and holding long-overdue elections, with both movements often blamig each other for numerous political failures.

Hamas said yesterday it had dissolved its administrative committee – formed earlier this year to the outrage of the PA – and agreed to hold general elections for the first time since 2006, enter talks with Fatah and allow the national reconciliation government to operate in Gaza.

The Palestinian political crisis has since continued to worsen, and Hamas said it formed the committee after the consensus government failed to take responsibility for Gaza’s administration.

Last month, Abbas threatened to undertake further repressive measures against the impoverished territory should Hamas not unconditionally abide by the Palestinian Authority’s demands to end the administrative committee, relinquish control of the enclave and hold presidential and legislative elections. Following Hamas’s acceptance of these conditions, senior Fatah official Mahmoud Aloul said he cautiously welcomed Hamas’s position. – Ma’an