Hamdallah: We Will Not Accept any Derogation from Government’s Work in Gaza

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah talks to media after the first unity government meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah talks to media after the first unity government meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
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Hamdallah: We Will Not Accept any Derogation from Government’s Work in Gaza

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah talks to media after the first unity government meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah talks to media after the first unity government meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 3, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said his government wanted to assume full responsibility of the Gaza Strip and to extend its power over all sectors.

“The government of National Reconciliation will assume its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, which means that it will begin to work in an effective and comprehensive manner, without any derogation from its functions, responsibilities and powers,” Hamdallah said during a Cabinet session held in Ramallah on Tuesday.

He added that the government would extend its jurisdiction in accordance with the laws issued by the Palestinian president “in all sectors and fields without exception”.

“For this purpose, the government has decided to form a number of ministerial committees to oversee the handover of the crossings, security and government departments, and address all civil, administrative and legal issues resulting from the division,” Hamdallah stated.

Earlier this week, the Palestinian government announced that it would hold a meeting in Gaza next Tuesday to turn the page of the administrative committee formed by Hamas and give the green light for the ministries and institutions in the enclave.

Spokesman for the Palestinian government Youssef al-Mahmoud said: “Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has decided after consulting with President Mahmoud Abbas that the government will hold its weekly meeting in Gaza next week.”

“Hamdallah and members of the government will arrive in Gaza next Monday to start taking over government responsibilities after Hamas announced its agreement to dissolve the administrative committee and enable the government to assume its full responsibilities,” he added.

The Palestinian prime minister called on the Palestinian people and civil society groups to support reconciliation efforts in order to end divisions and “enable the government to carry out its duties to serve our people and our nation.”

Hamas, for its part, welcomed the arrival of the government of Hamdallah to the Gaza Strip.

The head of the movement in Gaza, Yehya Senwar, said that his movement would provide all facilities for the success of the visit at all levels.



Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected a controversial proposal by US President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip.  

The Arab League is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on March 4 in response to Trump's plan to take over Gaza and permanently move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan, and then redevelop the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".  

Speaking in Madrid ahead of the gathering, Sisi called for the "international community's support and adoption of a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing the Palestinian people -- I repeat, without displacing the Palestinian people -- from their land, which they cling to, and their homeland, which they do not agree to relinquish".

Sanchez, one of the staunchest defenders of the Palestinian cause within the European Union, agreed, saying "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is part of the future Palestinian state".

"Their expulsion would not only be immoral and contrary to international law and United Nations resolutions, but would also have a destabilizing effect," the Socialist premier added.  

The two leaders also signed a declaration upgrading Egypt-Spain relations to a "strategic partnership", as well as several memorandums of understanding in various fields including illegal migration and defense.  

Trump's plan sparked an outcry from Arab governments as well as from world leaders, and the United Nations warned against "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory.