Palestinian Authority to Take Control of Gaza Crossings in November

Leading member of the Hamas movement, Saleh al-Arouri, announced on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority will be handed control of the Gaza Strip crossings in early November.

Arouri was part of the delegation that signed the reconciliation with the Fatah group in Cairo on Thursday.

The Gaza crossings was a thorny issues at the talks because Hamas has had control of them for the past ten years.

Arouri told al-Quds newspaper that Hamas and Fatah agreed to hold “deep and detailed” discussions in Gaza between security officials from both factions.

The security forces in Gaza will remain as they are until an agreement is reached over a mechanism to merge them, he explained. This will help avoid any “security vacuum.”

The reconciliation called for the merger of the security and police forces in Gaza and the West Bank in a manner that would ensure their unity and that they adhere to the Interior Ministry.

Asked if the agreement means that Hamas will abandon its armed resistance, Arouri replied: “Partnership means partnership in decisions of war and peace.”

Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip after bloody clashes with Fatah in 2007.

On September 17, Hamas dissolved the administrative committee that had taken over the role of the government in Gaza to pave the way for the return of the Palestinian cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah, to the coastal strip.

The Cairo-sponsored reconciliation, signed on October 12, is expected to end the ten-year divide between the two factions.

The agreement calls for forming a national unity government and preparing for holding legislative and presidential elections. It also calls for establishing joint committees to take in the 45,000 civil and military employees Hamas hired at public institutions.