GAZA CITY: Hamas and Fatah delegations traveled to Cairo on Friday to start a new round of talks aimed at implementing a reconciliation deal signed by the two Palestinian factions.
Fatah accuses Hamas of not allowing the Palestinian Authority (PA) to work freely in Gaza, and thus hindering moving to other issues such as reforming the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and setting a date for general elections.
Hamas says the PA is stalling in providing services to Gazans, and has called for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Gaza by the authority.
Fayez Abu Eita, deputy head of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, told Arab News that the Cairo talks are an attempt to “save reconciliation and prevent it from failing.”
He said: “There are administrative and financial issues. The government (PA) can’t collect taxes in Gaza. Employees who worked in the government before the split (between Hamas and Fatah) aren’t allowed to return to their places of work. Some ministers can’t work in their ministries.”
Hamas on Saturday urged the PA “to carry out its duties and responsibilities in full, first and foremost to lift unjust sanctions on our people in Gaza, or resign and form a national government.”
In the past few days, there have been Egyptian-brokered marathon meetings in Gaza between Palestinian factions.
Issues of contention
“We hope Fatah will abide by what was agreed in the Cairo deal signed on Oct. 12, to shoulder the responsibilities of the government, pay the salaries of employees and lift sanctions,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Al-Kanoa told Arab News.
“After more than 10 years, ongoing division has created great crises. We need more time and patience to solve issues of contention.”
The PA has called on its staff to return to work in ministries in Gaza, something Hamas has rejected.
The Gaza Personnel Union decided to prevent any PA employee from returning to work until a just solution is found for employees who were appointed by Hamas in Gaza after its takeover of the territory in 2007.
On Sunday, Palestinian factions in Gaza demanded the lifting of PA sanctions on the territory.
Meanwhile, Hamas has refused to comment on reports that there were negotiations in Egypt regarding prisoner exchanges with Israel.
Hamas, Fatah delegations in Cairo for talks
Hamas, Fatah delegations in Cairo for talks
Hezbollah accepts resignation of senior security official Wafiq Safa amid restructuring
- Safa survived an Israeli assassination attempt in October 2024
- A source said “the resignation and its acceptance were part of an internal restructuring move“
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah accepted the resignation of senior security official Wafiq Safa on Friday, the first time an official of his rank has stepped down, sources familiar with the group’s thinking told Reuters.
Safa, who heads Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, survived an Israeli assassination attempt in October 2024.
A source said “the resignation and its acceptance were part of an internal restructuring move” following losses Hezbollah sustained in last year’s war with Israel, adding that southern commander Hussein Abdullah was appointed to replace Safa.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024 to end more than a year of cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, which had culminated in Israeli strikes that severely weakened the Iran-backed militant group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations of ceasefire violations.
Lebanon has faced growing pressure from the US and Israel to disarm Hezbollah, and its leaders fear that Israel could dramatically escalate strikes across the battered country to push Lebanon’s leaders to confiscate Hezbollah’s arsenal more quickly.
Hezbollah has fought numerous conflicts with Israel since it was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982. It kept its arms after the end of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, using them against Israeli troops who occupied the south until 2000.
Safa, whom Middle East media reports said was born in 1960, oversaw negotiations that led to a 2008 deal in which Hezbollah exchanged the bodies of Israeli soldiers captured in 2006 for Lebanese prisoners in Israel. The 2006 incident triggered a 34-day war with Israel.
