Friday, August 11, 2017

Hamas weighs dropping Gaza civilian gov't for military rule

A senior Hamas official reported that leaders of Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigade had suggested to Hamas leadership a general plan which would help the unlivable conditions in Gaza, Turkey's Anadolu news agency said.
 
The plan contains four sections, and would create a political and security "vacuum" in Gaza, allowing for different options in Hamas' relations with Israel, including militarily.
 
Gaza is currently run by a Hamas-appointed committee, which serves as an independent government. The committee, elected in March of this year, deals with Gaza's various offices and is in charge of civilian matters.
 
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority sees the Hamas committee as an independent government, which it insists Hamas disband in order to allow for PA to govern in Gaza. In an effort to pressure Hamas to give in, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced he would continue cutting support payments to Gaza, and slashed the number of permits granted to sick Gazans who need to enter Israel.
 
The Fatah-run PA and Hamas have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza from Fatah in a bloody coup. All attempts to reconcile the sides have thus far failed.
 
A unity government between Hamas and Fatah collapsed in 2015 when PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided to dissolve it amid a deepening rift between the sides.
 
Since the unity government was dissolved, Hamas and Fatah have held several rounds of reconciliation talks in Doha, Qatar. However, the sides reached only a partial agreement, since the PA rejected outright the idea of integrating Hamas and Islamic Jihad into its government.