Egypt hosts Fatah-Hamas post-war governance meeting

3/11/2024 5:57

        Senior officials of the rival
        Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas are meeting in Cairo to
        discuss forming a committee to manage Gaza's post-war
        governance, an Egyptian security source was quoted as saying by
        Egypt's Al Qahera News TV on Saturday.
        
        The talks are part of Egypt's broader mediation efforts
        to broker a ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas
        and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.
        
        Leaders from Hamas and the Fatah faction of Palestinian
        President Mahmoud Abbas met in Cairo last month to discuss
        forming the committee based on a proposal put forward by Egypt,
        but talks were adjourned for later discussion, sources close to
        the talks told Reuters.
        
        The sources said the committee would be made up of
        independent Palestinian figures not aligned to a particular
        movement, addressing the question of who would run Gaza after
        the year-long war is over.
        
        Israel rejects any role by Hamas in Gaza after the war is
        ended and has said it does not trust the rival Palestinian
        Authority of Abbas to run the enclave.
        
        Mediators, including Egypt and Qatar with backing from
        the United States, have so far failed to secure a truce that
        would end the Gaza war and facilitate a release of Israeli and
        foreign hostages held by Hamas, along with thousands of
        Palestinians detained by Israel.
        
        Hamas is pressing for an end to hostilities while
        Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the
        war will continue until Hamas is dismantled.
        
        Hamas political official Izzat al-Risheq dismissed proposals
        of limited or temporary truces as "smokescreens".
        
        "We are positively open to any proposals or ideas that
        ensure the cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of
        occupation forces from Gaza," al-Risheq said in a statement.
        
        The conflict continues to exact a heavy humanitarian
        toll, with medics reporting that five Palestinians were killed
        in an Israeli air strike on Gaza's Bureij refugee camp on
        Saturday.
        
        Palestinian health officials said at least 60 people had
        been killed by Israeli military strikes across Gaza Strip since
        Friday.
        
        In the latest round of violence, Islamic Jihad, a
        Palestinian militant group allied with Hamas, said it launched
        rockets at Sderot, Mefalsim and other Israeli territory near the
        Gaza border late on Saturday.
        
        The Israeli military said two projectiles crossed from
        northern Gaza, landing in an open area but caused no injuries.
        
        The war erupted after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on
        Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages
        back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
        
        Israel's retaliatory offensives have killed more than 43,000
        Palestinians and reduced most of Gaza to rubble.