PA Chairman: Deal between Hamas, Israel, must include us

Palestinian Authority chairman says any deal between Hamas and Israel must include PA, all funds to Gaza must go through him.
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday slammed the Egyptian proposal for peace between Hamas and Israel, saying that either Hamas or the PA must control Gaza, Judea, and Samaria.

The Egyptian-brokered deal between Israel and Hamas is expected to include improvement in the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as well as the construction of a seaport in the Egyptian city of Ismailia and an airport in Sinai.

Speaking at a meeting of Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Central Council, Abbas said, "There is no state in Gaza nor an autonomy in the West Bank, and we will not accept this."

"We will not allow the separation of Gaza [from the West Bank]. Either we [the PA] are in power… in Gaza and the West Bank — one country, one system, one law, one weapon — or they [Hamas] are in power."

Abbas also said the PA must be involved in any deal between Hamas and Israel, and that it would cease transferring money to Gaza if Hamas did not cede power.

He emphasized that any humanitarian aid to Gaza must be transferred via the PA.

On Friday, Hamas announced that negotiations with Israel would be put on hold until the conclusion of the Eid al-Adha holiday later this month.

Hamas and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction have been at odds since 2007, when Hamas violently took control of Gaza in a bloody coup. A unity government between Hamas and Fatah collapsed in 2015 when Abbas decided to dissolve it amid a deepening rift between the sides.

In October 2017, Hamas and the PA signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo, under which the PA was to resume full control of Gaza by December 1. However, the deal never completely implemented due what was described as “obstacles.”
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