Palestinian Media: Hamas Transfers Control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority

Palestinian media reported that the Palestinian Authority will hold a meeting in the Gaza Strip on Monday, October 2, to transfer control of the region from Hamas to the Palestinian Authority led by Fatah after ten years. According to these reports, Rami Hamdallah, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and his ministers will travel from Ramallah, the headquarters of the Authority in the West Bank, to Gaza City, the center of the Gaza Strip, to hold the first session of the 'National Unity Government.' Palestinian media reported that Ihab Bseiso, the Minister of Culture of the Palestinian Authority, entered the region through the Israeli land border with Gaza on Sunday, October 1, becoming the first minister of the Authority to return to Gaza after ten years. Additionally, delegations including about 30 security and political officials from the Palestinian Authority have gone to the region in recent days to pursue negotiations with Hamas leaders ahead of the Prime Minister's arrival in Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh, the new head of Hamas's political bureau, and Rami Hamdallah have emphasized their joint efforts for the success of the meeting on Monday in a recent phone call. In a statement regarding this event, Haniyeh wrote that Hamas has supported 'reconciliation and national unity and setting aside internal disputes at all stages.' He added that Hamas has taken this step with the aim of 'lifting the siege on Gaza by Israel.' Over the past ten years, there have been severe disagreements between Hamas and Fatah over the administration of Gaza, and while Hamas has effectively controlled the affairs of the region, several reconciliation agreements mediated by Arab leaders, known as the Cairo, Doha, Mecca, Sana'a, and Gaza agreements, have been reached, but none have led to real reconciliation so far. Last month, Hamas announced the dissolution of the Gaza Administrative Committee to facilitate the transfer of control of the region to the National Unity Government. Following Hamas's invitation to Fatah to return to Gaza, the Palestinian Authority has taken the necessary steps in recent weeks to take over the region. Palestinian media have reported that Hamas will also transfer responsibility for Gaza's land crossings to the Palestinian Authority forces. This could be a significant development and may even pave the way for the return of international forces affiliated with the United Nations to these areas. Meanwhile, the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Saturday, October 7, that ahead of the transfer of control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Authority, has called for the military wing of Hamas to be dissolved as well. This news has not yet been confirmed or denied by Hamas. Various Palestinian groups and the international community have welcomed the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas in advance. These developments have also received support from Israel, although Israel does not have high-level relations with the Palestinian Authority and still considers Hamas its enemy. The Palestinian Authority, established in 1993 in the West Bank and Gaza, effectively lost control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. This occurred after Hamas gained a majority in the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 and subsequently expelled the Authority from Gaza following bloody conflicts with Fatah forces, resulting in over 100 deaths. With Hamas's rise to power in Gaza in the summer of 2007, the Palestinian governance was effectively divided into two parts: the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority and Gaza under Hamas. During this period, Gaza witnessed several bloody wars with the Israeli army, resulting in thousands of deaths among militants and civilians, and the region faced widespread destruction. Recent developments in the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas have occurred shortly after changes in Hamas's leadership. Khaled Mashal recently handed over the leadership of Hamas's political bureau to Ismail Haniyeh after ten years; Haniyeh himself was the Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza for years. Yahya Sinwar has also recently been elected as the internal leader of Hamas in Gaza, replacing Haniyeh. Hamas has removed the destruction of Israel from its new charter, although it emphasizes the continuation of armed resistance against the country until the full rights of Palestinians are achieved.