GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are outraged that sanctions against Gaza remain in place despite the reconciliation agreement signed Oct. 12 by Fatah and Hamas in Cairo. They are upset in particular about the reduced fuel supply to Gaza's only power plant. Any euphoria over news of the reconciliation in this regard has worn thin, as it appears relief may not be in sight for at least another month.
The reconciliation agreement calls for “completion of the necessary procedures to enable the consensus government to fully exercise its tasks and assume its responsibilities in the administration of both Gaza and the West Bank by Dec. 1.” The transfer of Hamas' control over Gaza, in fact, began in early October, kick-started by the movement's Sept. 17 announcement of the dissolution of the administrative committee it formed in March to oversee Gaza. Hamas took full control of Gaza in 2007 after a violent conflict there with Fatah, the main party in the Palestinian Authority (PA).
A delegation from the Ramallah-based consensus government headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah arrived in Gaza on Oct. 2 after Hamas announced the demise of the administrative committee. On Oct. 3, the ministers of the consensus government began taking control of Gaza ministries from Hamas. On Nov. 1, the PA took control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings with Israel. The Israeli crossings are expected to be opened immediately, but the crossing at Rafah will be delayed to address security issues given the Islamic State insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.
In an Aug. 3 statement to the Quds Press International News Agency, Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah's Central Committee and the Fatah official responsible for the reconciliation file, said that dissolving the committee was necessary to end the sanctions imposed on Gaza. The Hamas administrative committee was dissolved after that statement. Many Palestinians, apparently erroneously, had assumed that relief would immediately follow dissolution.
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