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The main Palestinian political factions, including Hamas, said Friday they had agreed that an independent committee of technocrats would take over the running of post-war Gaza.
During a meeting in Cairo, according to a joint statement published 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."
It said the committee would "manage the affairs of life and basic services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions."
The statement also said the factions had agreed to work on unifying a common position "to confront the challenges facing the Palestinian cause."
It called for a meeting of all forces and factions to "agree on a national strategy and to 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 longtime rival, Fatah.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a Facebook post that the movement is calling for the swift formation of the Gaza administration committee and the acceleration of the Strip’s reconstruction.
A Palestinian source told Sky News Arabia that the Fatah movement did not attend Friday’s meetings of Palestinian factions in Cairo and is not bound by their outcomes.
The source added that no direct talks between Fatah and Hamas are currently planned, noting that President Mahmoud Abbas has set clear conditions for any dialogue.
The source also stressed that the formation of a technocratic government is a decision that rests solely with President Abbas, who envisions such a government administering the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem under the framework of peaceful popular resistance.
Alongside the Hamas-Fatah talks, Egypt's intelligence chief Hassan Rashad met senior officials from key Palestinian factions, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
They 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 flared into fighting for a time after the 2006 election and which has hindered efforts at Palestinian national unity.
In December 2024, they agreed to create a committee to jointly administer post-war Gaza. The agreement was criticized, particularly by members of Fatah.
Hamas, which seized power in the territory in 2007, has already made it clear that it does not wish to govern the post-war territory but has pushed back against the insistence that it disarm its fighters.
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