Professional Documents
Culture Documents
"One of the issues is whether Hamas will be able to retain its arms. If it does, then
it's a non-starter for Israel," he said.
Abbas' pressure over the past several months on Hamas to loosen its grip
included halting electricity payments to Israeli suppliers, a sanction that caused
extensive daily blackouts in Gaza.
Abbas also cut wages to civil servants still on the unity government's payroll, a
move that deepened economic hardship in an area long under partial blockade by
Israel and Egypt, which cite security concerns for border restrictions.
Hamdallah, accompanied by security men from the West Bank-based Palestinian
Authority and Hamas forces, was scheduled to hold talks with Hamas leader
Ismail Haniyeh and tour Shejaia, a neighbourhood heavily damaged by Israeli
bombardment in a 2014 war with Gaza militants.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian unity cabinet will meet in Gaza.
"The agenda is crowded with ideas and projects," Culture Minister Ehad Bseisso
said. "We need to ... push the wheel of reconciliation forward, to create a positive
atmosphere."
In addition to setting a date for holding presidential and parliamentary elections,
rival factions will have to resolve the issue of the fate of the 40,000 to 50,000 civil
and military staff Hamas had hired since 2007.
Egyptian officials in Gaza
Egyptian delegates arrived in Gaza on Sunday on the eve of the fresh attempt at
reconciliation, an official said.
The Palestinian schism is seen as a major obstacle to a peace agreement between
Israel and a future Palestinian state combining the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The initiative is backed by Egypt, which will be closely following the talks,
intended to prepare for a transfer of power in the Gaza Strip from Hamas to
Abbas's PA.
"An Egyptian delegation, including Egypt's ambassador to Israel Hazem Khairat,
and two other high-ranking Egyptian intelligence officers, arrived in Gaza" from
Israel, Mohammed al-Maqdama, from the PA office that coordinates with the
Israeli authorities, told AFP.
On the eve of the handover, Hamas also released five Fatah security men it jailed
two years ago for what an Interior Ministry spokesman described as actions
harmful to internal security. Their sentences ranged from seven to 15 years.