Hamas and Fatah discuss power-sharing deal that could end Gaza war

Leading Palestinian rival factions Fatah and Hamas are closing in on a deal to appoint politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war.

Gaza City residents at the site of an Israeli strike on December 3, 2024, as Palestinian factions continue to search for a peace deal. Picture: AFP

Leading Palestinian rival factions Fatah and Hamas are closing in on a deal to appoint politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war.

The agreement would effectively end Hamas’s rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel.

The two factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, and Israel has ruled out any post-war role in Gaza for ­either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

A Palestinian Authority official on Wednesday AEDT confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in Cairo, and a committee would be formed of between 12 and 15 members, most of them from Gaza.

It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to organise humanitarian help and reconstruction.

A Hamas official said Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, but they failed to provide a timeline.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned.

He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and continue to hold corridors within the territory, with civilian affairs in the rest administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.

No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who co-operates with the Israeli military.

The US has called for a revitalised Palestinian Authority to govern the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government, which is opposed to Palestinian statehood, is reportedly discussing a post-war plan with the United Arab Emirates, which normalised relations with Israel in 2020 and backs a rival Fatah faction.

The Hamas official said the emerging Palestinian agreement would fulfil one of Israel’s war goals by ending Hamas’s rule in Gaza. But it’s unclear if Israeli officials would see it that way.

Previous attempts at unity ­between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have fallen apart, often because of competition for power between the two rivals – and there are opponents of the current talks within Fatah.

Jibril Rajoub, secretary-general of Fatah’s central committee, ­denounced the agreement, saying it was “a mistake that we even ­accepted the principal of discussing this matter”.

He said the arrangement would entrench the division between the West Bank and Gaza by accepting two administrations. He said Hamas should instead let the Palestinian Authority retake administration of the territory.

“We represent the unity of the land and the government,” he said.

The Palestinian Authority, 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, many of whom view it as a subcontractor of the occupation.

On its side, 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, the Hamas official said. American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker such an agreement, but the negotiations have repeatedly stalled.

Hamas ignited the war with its October 7 attack into Israel last year, in which Palestinian militants killed 1200 people, mostly ­civilians, and abducted 250. About 100 hostages remain inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many of the dead were combatants. The offensive has levelled much of the coastal territory and displaced the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents.

AP