GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Egypt has taken several steps to improve economic conditions for Hamas in the Gaza Strip. On Aug. 11, an agreement was reached to establish a free-trade zone on the Gazan-Egyptian border during a visit by a Hamas delegation to Cairo. On June 21, Egyptian industrial diesel was brought to Gaza to operate the enclave’s sole power plant.

Egypt’s actions are a response to the sanctions imposed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Gaza, where Hamas has been suffering a financial crisis since 2014, when Iran cut its aid to Hamas in light of the Syrian crisis.

On Aug. 15, Hamas' spokesman in Gaza Abdullatif al-Kanou told the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency that the free-trade zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will open after the Rafah crossing is restored. Work on the crossing is expected to end Sept. 5. He said that the Hamas delegation discussed the operation of the commercial crossing and the entry of the goods with Egyptian officials.

The relationship between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Egypt has been lukewarm for years, for several reasons. Abbas rejected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's efforts to reconcile with dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan in November 2015. Abbas also rejected Sisi’s peace initiative launched in May 2016. On the other side, Egypt rejected the PA’s request in late July 2016 to hold an Arab summit in Cairo to discuss the Israeli settlement issue and set a date for taking the issue to the UN Security Council.