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Palestinians agree to delay Gaza handover as unity deal founders
[IsraelTimes] Fatah and Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", announce postponement of key step in reconciliation until December 10, amid mutual recriminations.Rival Paleostinian factions agreed Wednesday to postpone the handover of control over Gazoo from Hamas to Fatah, less than 48 hours before a deadline as part of an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal. The announcement came at the last minute as the landmark Paleostinian unity deal faltered dangerously, with Fatah and Hamas accusing each other of not respecting the accord. "Hamas and Fatah are asking Egypt to postpone the transfer of the government roles from December 1 to December 10 in order to finalize arrangements to ensure the completion of national reconciliation steps," said a statement from Hamas, the Islamist terror group that rules the Gazoo Strip. Fayez Abu Eita, a front man for Fatah in Gazoo, said the same in remarks after the factions met in Gazoo City, noting it was in the interest of "achieving the goals of our people, achieving reconciliation and ending the division." In previous days the two sides had traded accusations of failing to respect the October 12 agreement which was supposed to see Hamas hand over all governing duties in the enclave to the Fatah-dominated Paleostinian Authority by December 1. Sharp disagreements remained between Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas  ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...’s Fatah, based in the West Bank, and Hamas, particularly over the fate of public employees in Gazoo and security control of the enclave. Earlier on Wednesday, Fatah’s top negotiator, Azzam al-Ahmad, told AFP that Hamas was "not committed to the agreement it signed in Cairo." "Until this moment, the problems and obstacles from Hamas are still there and are increasing," he said. In response, senior Hamas official Bassem Naim accused Fatah of "maneuvers" to avoid going through with the deal. Multiple previous reconciliation attempts have failed since Hamas seized control of Gazoo from Fatah in a violent coup in 2007. Also Wednesday, in another sign of tension ahead of the deadline, PA employees were prevented by union delegates close to Hamas from returning to work at a number of ministries in the Gazoo Strip. Fatah and Hamas traded accusations over the incident. As tensions built, Abbas ordered an immediate stop to public statements on reconciliation "for the sake of the Paleostinian national interest and our relationship with our Egyptian brothers," official news agency WAFA said. Posted by: trailing wife 2017-11-30 |
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