Hamas, Fatah Reach Accord on Unity Cabinet
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have reached a partial understanding that should put plans of a unified government back on track.
Following two-day meetings in Cairo, officials from the rival groups agreed on Thursday that the unity government, run by President Mahmoud Abbas, would take control of the war-stricken Gaza Strip.
"It was a must to move quickly and to get rid of all kinds of obstacles facing the national consensus government," Azzad al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah delegation, was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying.
"We discussed the importance of starting the Gaza reconstruction following the 2009, 2012 and 2014 Israeli aggressions against Gaza."
Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA) said in a recent study that the reconstruction work would cost $7.8bln, two and a half times Gaza's gross domestic product, including $2.5bln for the reconstruction of homes and $250mln for energy.
The UN, Israel and the PA reached a deal on September 16 to allow reconstruction work in Gaza, almost a month after a ceasefire pact was reached between Israel and Hamas, ending 50 days of deadly cross-border fighting.
More than 2,100 Palestinians, three-quarters of whom were civilians, were killed during the war with large swaths of the strip were left in ruins.
