President Mahmoud Abbas is about to make a decision to completely stop financing the Gaza Strip in the wake of the failure of inter-Palestinian reconciliation talks, well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
All means have been exhausted, and it’s no longer possible to keep the status quo in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian sources noted.
Hamas “preferred to resort to a truce agreement (with Israel) at the expense of reconciliation. It has put reconciliation behind it,” the sources affirmed.
“In light of this reality, the president will make imminent decisions.”
According to sources, the decision to cut funding for the Gaza Strip may take place at any moment and be implemented immediately.
The expected decision comes amid Egypt’s efforts to push forward a reconciliation agreement after Fatah insisted on a comprehensive empowerment of the government in the Gaza Strip and a complete cessation of talks on the truce, a move rejected by Hamas.
Cairo had resumed its efforts to make reconciliation a success, but at the same time halted Egypt-sponsored truce talks between the Palestinian factions and Israel last month, after Abbas warned against a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, which he said would contribute to the separation of the sector from the West Bank.
Abbas refused to participate in the talks and threatened to stop funding the Gaza Strip if Hamas chose to forge a unilateral deal with Israel. He also insisted on signing a reconciliation agreement before the truce.
A Fatah delegation headed by Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the PLO’s Central Committee, met on Tuesday with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo to discuss the position of Fatah and Hamas’ response.
Fatah has insisted on comprehensive empowerment in the Gaza Strip, including security, the judiciary, land authority, tax collection and border crossings, but Hamas rejected the demand and described the Fatah document as a “bad reconciliation”.
Hamas has informed the Egyptian side that it rejected any amendments to the first Egyptian document, and would not hand over the Gaza Strip unconditionally, stressing its commitment to its initial demands of lifting the sanctions imposed by Fatah and forming a new government that would include all Palestinian factions and independents.
In remarks on Tuesday, Hamas’ politburo chief, Ismail Haniyeh, said that reconciliation efforts were hindered. He noted that linking reconciliation with ending the siege on Gaza was stumbling.
