The 2017 Fatah–Hamas Agreement is a reconciliation agreement signed between

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

and

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

on 12 October 2017. The agreement was brokered by

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and signed in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. The deal was signed by the leader of the Fatah delegation

Azzam al-Ahmad Azzam al-Ahmad ( ar, عزام الأحمد) (born 1947 in Rummanah, Jenin) (previously Minister of Public Works and Housing portfolio added on 9 June 2002) received a BA in Economics from Baghdad University. He was the head of the General Union ...

and Hamas deputy politburo chief Salah al-Arouri. As at January 2018, the parties have failed to implement the deal, arguing over the interpretation of its details and missing deadlines it set. The most contested issue between Hamas and Fatah is the future of the weapons of terrorist groups in Gaza. Hamas has said it will not accept any group conceding its weapons. Meanwhile, PA President and Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has said he would only agree to a scenario in which the PA security forces control all of Gaza's weapons. In early March 2018, an Egyptian security delegation was to arrive in Gaza to follow up on the stalled reconciliation efforts. Hamas was due to hand over control of Gaza by 1 December 2017. Both Hamas and Fatah requested Egypt that takeover be delayed to 10 December.

Details

In the agreement, it is stipulated that Hamas gives Fatah full civilian control of the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, and in return the economic blockade of Gaza is to ease. The agreement arises because in the last few months, Hamas had been under heavy pressure from the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

. Punitive measures included cutting salaries of Palestinian Authority employees living in Gaza and reducing the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip, which was already suffering from an

electricity crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particular, those that supply n ...

due to the Egyptian and Israeli blockade. The agreement stipulates that legislative, presidential and national council elections should be conducted within one year of its signing. The deal would also see both Hamas and Fatah form an interim government before the elections. Under the agreement 3,000 Palestinian Authority police officers are to be placed in the Gaza Strip. The head of the Palestinian Authority delegation

said that the

Rafah border crossing The Rafah Border Crossing ( ar, معبر رفح, Ma`bar Rafaḥ) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace ...

between Egypt and Gaza would be operated by the presidential guards of PA President

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...

by 1 November 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017 Fatah-Hamas Agreement Intra-Palestinian peace efforts Fatah–Hamas conflict 2017 in the State of Palestine Fatah Hamas

Details

See also

References