Palestinian Unity Govt to Take Control in Gaza

Move Ends Months of Disputes Over Civil Service Pay

The Fatah-Hamas negotiation in Cairo has reached an agreement today which will see their “national unity government, “agreed to back in May, take over control of the Gaza Strip.

That ends the long-standing dispute over who would pay government employees in the strip, who had previously been paid by the Hamas movement. Officials say they will now be paid by the unity government and will answer to them.

In theory the agreement is effective immediately, though in practice implementation may take some time. The main goal of the deal is to get border crossings opened for reconstruction material.

The unity government being in control will also put considerable pressure on Israel to allow that construction material to be sent in faster, without the excuse of acrimony toward Hamas.

Israel has opposed the unity government, saying they don’t want to deal with any faction which Hamas is even peripherally a part of.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.