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Moroccan King, French President Inaugurate Al Boraq High Speed Train

Thursday's launch marks the end of a seven-year project [Youssef Boudlal/Reuters]
Thursday's launch marks the end of a seven-year project [Youssef Boudlal/Reuters]
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Moroccan King, French President Inaugurate Al Boraq High Speed Train

Thursday's launch marks the end of a seven-year project [Youssef Boudlal/Reuters]
Thursday's launch marks the end of a seven-year project [Youssef Boudlal/Reuters]

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated on Thursday Morocco’s first high-speed rail line, the first ever such line in Africa.

The project required an investment of USD2.3 billion of which 51 percent was financed by France, 27 percent by Morocco and 22 percent by four sovereign Gulf funds.

The Moroccan and French leaders boarded the train in Tangier after they were handed tickets by Director General of the National Railway Office Mohamed Rabie Khlie, according to State agency MAP.

The new railway linking Casablanca to Tangier through Rabat and Kenitra will be a landmark in the field of road transportation of passengers in Morocco.

The French president arrived Wednesday in Tangier Airport in a short visit to Morocco, in which the Elysee statement revealed that Macron is committed to another event in Paris during the same day.

This achievement required 11 years to be completed since sealing the agreement in 2007 during a visit to Morocco by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy – construction works commenced in 2011 because the project was supposed to be inaugurated in 2015.

The high-speed train can run up to 320km/h reducing the journey time from Tangier to Kenitra then up to 180km/h between Kenitra, Casablanca passing through Rabat.

According to Morocco’s National Railway Office (ONCF), the trip duration between Tangier and Kenitra will be reduced from 3.15 hr to only 47 minutes thanks to Al Boraq. As for the trip duration from Rabat to Tangier then it will become 1.20 hr instead of 3.45 hr. Once the railway is fully completed in 2020, the trip duration between Rabat and Tangier will take one hour only. After the trip from Casablanca to Tangier was 4.45 hr, it will become 2.10 hr and in 2020 only 1.30 hr.

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Arab World

Hamas, Fatah Agree to Form Committee to Govern Gaza

A man hides behind a column as smoke and dust spread as a result of an explosion during an Israeli raid targeting a school in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City on September 1, 2024 (AFP)
A man hides behind a column as smoke and dust spread as a result of an explosion during an Israeli raid targeting a school in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City on September 1, 2024 (AFP)
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Hamas, Fatah Agree to Form Committee to Govern Gaza

A man hides behind a column as smoke and dust spread as a result of an explosion during an Israeli raid targeting a school in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City on September 1, 2024 (AFP)
A man hides behind a column as smoke and dust spread as a result of an explosion during an Israeli raid targeting a school in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaza City on September 1, 2024 (AFP)

A Palestinian source confirmed that Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a body called the Social Support Committee to govern Gaza after the war. The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the final agreement was reached during discussions in Cairo and will be presented to President Mahmoud Abbas for approval.

The two-page document describes the committee as the body responsible for managing Gaza under the authority of the Palestinian government in Ramallah. It outlines six key principles for its formation: preserving the unity of Palestinian territories within the 1967 borders (West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza), maintaining communication between the Palestinian government and the committee, adhering to the Palestinian political framework, preventing Gaza’s separation from other Palestinian territories, selecting independent and qualified Palestinian leaders, and coordinating with existing local authorities in Gaza.

The committee’s mandate will end when its purpose is fulfilled, general elections are held, or another agreed-upon framework is implemented, subject to national consensus and a decision by the Palestinian president.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas turned to this committee as a way to counter regional and international efforts to marginalize them in post-war Gaza governance, according to the sources.

Under the agreement, the committee will report to the Palestinian Authority, overseeing humanitarian aid distribution, civil affairs, and Gaza’s reconstruction, including managing the Rafah border crossing. According to the document, the joint body will assume control of Rafah under the terms of the 2005 border agreement, which stipulated Palestinian Authority management of the crossing with international monitors and remote Israeli oversight. While the US and the EU support a return to this arrangement, Israel has so far opposed it, offering only a symbolic role for the Palestinian Authority at Rafah.

The agreement, mediated by Egypt, is part of a broader effort to secure a prisoner exchange deal, a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and an eventual Israeli withdrawal. Officials from both Hamas and Israel have expressed cautious optimism about a potential deal, though the details remain unclear.

Asharq Al-Awsat recently reported that Hamas is more open than ever to a phased agreement for Gaza, similar to the framework adopted in Lebanon. Sources indicated that Hamas is willing to accept a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, including contentious areas such as Philadelphi and Netzarim. The group is also prepared to let the Palestinian Authority manage the Rafah crossing if it leads to its immediate reopening.

The agreement also proposes establishing an international fund for Gaza’s reconstruction and reactivating pre-war mechanisms for border crossings. However, it avoids addressing contentious issues such as security control, arms, and law enforcement in Gaza.