Hamas sent a delegation from Gaza to Cairo on Aug. 14 for another round of discussions on the outline of the arrangement that is taking shape with Israel under Egyptian mediation and with UN cooperation. A Hamas source told Al-Monitor that the sides are nearing the finish line. The biggest question is whether the Palestinian Authority will be part of the arrangement.
In order to realize a “large program” Israel-Hamas arrangement, the Ramallah Palestinian leadership must be handed civil responsibility over the Strip. According to Hamas, this program would lead to an almost complete removal of the blockade on Gaza. But should Ramallah refuse, Hamas would have to settle for a “small program” of significant easements on the transfer of raw materials and food supplies from Israel and Egypt, as well as the expansion of economic initiatives and infrastructure development.
As of now, it seems that all the efforts to harness Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to be part of the “large program” have been in vain.
A Fatah delegation headed by head of Fatah's Central Committee Azzam al-Ahmad was sent to Cairo about two weeks ago to find a compromise in the main disagreement between the PA and Hamas: control over the security apparatus in the Strip. It became clear very quickly that the delegation was not empowered to not offer enough.
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