the islamist movement Hamas and the secular party Fatahantagonistic for decades, have agreed in Cairo on the details of the committee of independent professionals that will govern Gaza when the war ends, as Palestinian sources confirmed to EFE.
The agreement document, to which EFE had access, states that the Community Support Committee will be composed of between 10 and 15 independent Palestinian professionalscompetent and “known for their integrity, experience and transparency.”
These same sources pointed out that the groups have not yet signed the agreement, since it remains to be finalized who will be the members of the Committee, although it is speculated that the presidency could fall to Rawhi Fattouhcurrent president of the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which represents all Palestinians, including the diaspora.
On November 27, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbasalso designated Fattouh, born in Gaza, as his successor if the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) falls vacant.
When the acting leader of Hamas in Gaza, Jalil al Hayyaannounced the talks on the committee on November 20, assured that both organizations intended to implement it as soon as possible, even before the war ends.
Now, the draft agreement specifies that the body will begin operating after another meeting in Cairowhich would be attended by members of the rest of the Palestinian factions and would also have the presence of the Palestinian President.
“The Committee will continue to operate until the reasons that led to its formation disappear, until general elections are called or until another formula is agreed upon at the national levelagreed by national consensus and by decision of the president of the Palestinian State,” states the document on the end of the institution.
The elections that would give rise to a Government that replaces the CommitteeThey would be the first legislative elections held in Palestine since 2006, in which Hamas won. and they settled with the Islamists expelling Fatah from the enclave. This triggered antagonism between both parties, which this government agreement in Gaza softens.
“The legal basis of the Committee is the laws and rules that govern the Palestinian Territories,” states the document, which brings Hamas closer to the ANP, in the hands of Fatah and which governs the West Bank (but not Gaza, since the expulsion of secularists in 2007).
As agreed, This body will be under the supervision of organizations of the Palestinian National Authorityand will work in a coordinated and integrated manner with the Palestinian Government of the West Bank.
A committee with “all necessary powers”
The document does not reflect what will happen to the current Gaza Government, in the hands of Hamasalthough it states that the Committee will have “all the powers necessary to carry out its duties, make decisions and prepare the regulations necessary to organize its work.”
Furthermore, the parties raised the creation of an international fund for the reconstruction of Gazacompletely devastated by the war, in which the Palestinian Ministry of Finance will participate, as well as other support committees that guarantee the transparency and effectiveness of the process.
The portfolios raised in the president and vice president agreement, followed by different officials in charge of social development and humanitarian aid portfolios; education; health; agriculture; industry and economy; local government; reconstruction, relations with local authorities; representatives of the authority at border crossings and other members who supervise other relevant matters, not yet established.
Israel has demanded throughout the Gaza ceasefire agreement talks that Hamas not be part of the future government of the enclave after the war, so, if it occurs, the formation of the independent committee poses a new negotiating element for the Palestinians in order to put an end to the Israeli offensive, which has caused more than 44,400 deaths.
