RAFAH: Hamas handed over control of the Gaza Strip’s borders with Egypt and Israel to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday in the first key test of a landmark reconciliation accord agreed last month.
The handover signalled that Hamas remained firmly committed to a deal that would eventually see it give up full control of the Gaza Strip and bring an end to a 10-year rift with Fatah.
It not only handed over control of the crossings, but also completely dismantled its own checkpoint along the border with Israel, leaving only the one operated by the Palestinian Authority there, with trucks carting away furniture and material.
A ceremony was held to formalise the handover at the Rafah border with Egypt.
“There is no yellow and green. All our Palestinian people are under the Palestinian flag,” said Mufeed al Husayna, a Palestinian Authority minister, referring to the flag colours of the political parties that signed last month’s reconciliation deal.
Speaking at the Rafah ceremony, Husayna said: “We began today, under the directive of the prime minister (Rami Hamdallah), to exercise our duties by receiving all the crossings.”
Palestinian and Egyptian flags were flying at the Rafah ceremony, with large pictures of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al Sisi.
At a separate checkpoint with Israel, an AFP photographer saw Hamas installations being dismantled and carted away. Palestinian Authority and Hamas officials were also there overseeing the handover.
Hisham Adwan, Director of information at the Hamas crossings authority, said that Palestinian Authority employees would have full control of the borders.
Under an Egyptian-brokered deal agreed on October 12, the Palestinian Authority is due to resume full control of the strip by December 1, with the borders the first test.
The agreement set November 1 as the deadline for handing over control of the borders.
Many issues remain to be resolved, however, particularly the fate of Hamas’s 25,000-strong armed wing.
Israel, which has fought three wars with militants in Gaza since 2008, has said it will not deal with any Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas unless the movement disarms and recognises the country, among other demands.
The United States has also called on Hamas to disarm and recognise Israel.
Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007.
Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for a decade, citing the need to control Hamas and stop it from obtaining weapons or materials that could be used to make them.
Egypt has largely closed its border as well. The Rafah crossing was not open on Wednesday despite the official handover, though Hamas is hoping it will be in the coming days or weeks.
The Gaza Strip’s two million residents suffer from worsening humanitarian conditions, with only a few hours of power a day and a lack of clean water. — AFP
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