Major Palestinian political factions, including Hamas, said on Friday they had agreed that an independent committee of technocrats would take over the management of Gaza after the conflict.
During a meeting in Cairo, according to a joint statement posted on the Hamas website, the groups agreed to hand over “the administration of the Gaza Strip to a temporary Palestinian committee composed of independent technocrats.”
He said the committee would “manage life issues and basic services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions.”
The statement also said the factions had agreed to work to unify a common position “to confront the challenges facing the Palestinian cause.”
He called for a meeting of all forces and factions to “agree on a national strategy and revitalize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”
Hamas is not part of the PLO, which is dominated by its former rival Fatah.
An informed source said AFP Thursday that delegations from Hamas and Fatah met in Cairo to discuss the second phase of a US-backed ceasefire plan in Gaza.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said both sides agreed to “continue meetings in the coming period and work on organizing the Palestinian internal front in the face of challenges posed by the Israeli government.”
Parallel to the talks between Hamas and Fatah, Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad met with senior officials from key Palestinian factions.
These included Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, as well as the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, both factions within the PLO.
Hamas and Fatah have a history of deep political rivalry, which erupted into clashes for a time after the 2006 elections and which has hampered efforts to achieve Palestinian national unity.
In December 2024, they agreed to create a committee to jointly administer post-conflict Gaza. The agreement was criticized, particularly by members of Fatah.
Hamas, which seized power in the territory in 2007, has already made clear that it does not wish to govern the territory post-conflict, but has rejected insistence that it disarm its fighters.
