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Hamas: Fatah fugitives can return to Gaza

October 1, 2014 at 10:31 am

Senior Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk said on Tuesday that Fatah fugitives could return to the Gaza Strip based on the “clear” reconciliation agreement reached between Hamas and Fatah, Palestine’s Quds Net news agency reported.

Hundreds of Fatah members who took part in the fighting against Hamas left the Gaza Strip in 2007, when after electoral victory Hamas swept the Palestinian Authority (PA) from the coastal enclave.

Quds Net quoted Abu Marzouk as saying that those who can sort out their problems on their own could return immediately, but for those who are accused of taking part in blood issues, it is better for them to wait until the social reconciliation committee had resolved their issues.

He also pointed out that all Gaza employees, both before and after the internal division, would remain at work based on the agreement.

Abu Marzouk said that there were several issues that the agreement with Fatah has not yet sorted out; however, he insisted that both movements had agreed that 3,000 Hamas security officers would soon be absorbed into the PA security services.

Regarding the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after Israel’s latest war, the Hamas official stated that the international conference on the reconstruction of Gaza is scheduled for 12 October, noting that the donors would propose how their money will be spent.

About the Rafah Crossing, he said that it has not been on the agenda of Hamas-Fatah talks, but it is on the PA’s agenda as Egypt conditions the PA’s control of the crossing in order to open it.

One of the most complicated issues in the reconciliation agenda is holding the elections, but Abu Marzouk reiterated that preparing for them is a dominant concern.

He said that his movement is waiting for PA President Mahmoud Abbas to issue a decree on the elections, adding that Hamas would indeed take part in all of them.