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Hamas: Reconciliation agreement with Fatah ‘collapsing’

December 22, 2017 at 3:01 pm

Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Al-Sinwar in Gaza city on 18 October 2017 [Atia Darwish/Apaimages]

The head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Al-Sinwar, warned that the reconciliation agreement reached with rival Fatah movement is “collapsing”.

“I regret to say that those who cannot see the reconciliation is collapsing are blind. The reconciliation is collapsing and everyone must intervene to save it,” he said during a meeting with youth and activists in Gaza.

He added: “We have taken great steps to achieve the reconciliation and made a lot of concessions, but the reconciliation is still in the same place.”

“Some want the reconciliation according to the American and Israel terms. This means handing over weapons, missile capabilities and tunnels,” Al-Sinwar added.

Fatah and Hamas failed to meet the 10 December deadline set for the Palestinian unity government to assume full responsibility of the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the reconciliation agreement signed on 12 October in Cairo, Egypt.

Read: Gaza rallies in support of reconciliation

The Palestinian Authority took over the three crossings in the Gaza Strip: the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) commercial crossing and the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border with Israel.

Sinwar said US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel “requires speeding up the reconciliation efforts”.