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Hamas and Fatah leaders met Feb. 8 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where the rival Palestinian factions vowed to not leave until they signed an agreement aimed at lifting the West's economic embargo on the Hamas-led PNA government. After months of deadly street fights and heated negotiations, Hamas and Fatah finally made a deal late Feb. 8 under Saudi King Abdullah's watch.
According to a source in Fatah, the details of the agreement include:
- Hamas leader and PNA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will head the new Cabinet and remain prime minister.
- Nine Cabinet positions will go to Hamas, six will go to Fatah, another six will go to other Palestinian factions and the remaining six will go to independents.
- Hamas will nominate three of the independent ministers and Fatah will nominate two.
- Hamas will give up control of the ministries of finance and foreign affairs.
- The interior minister will be an independent candidate agreed on by both parties.
- Three subcommittees will be formed: one for national unity, one for political partnership between Hamas and Fatah and one for the reactivation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). These three committees are expected to submit their recommendations Feb. 9.
The aim of this agreement is to end the deadly factional fighting between the two organizations and place a neutral face on the Palestinian government that will be conducive to the end of the economic sanctions on the PNA. With a number of Palestinians no longer receiving their paychecks and basic services in the territories, Hamas is hard-pressed to bring the Palestinian government out of its yearlong stalemate in the interest of preserving popular support for the movement.
Hamas has strategically given up the foreign and finance ministries to skirt around the political implications attached to these two key positions. Since Hamas is not ready to agree to Israel and the Middle East Quartet's demands to renounce violence and recognize the state of Israel, it can leave the foreign aid and diplomatic issues to Fatah and independent members of the government. At the same time, Hamas will want to retain influence over the crucial interior ministry to safeguard its security forces against rival Fatah factions and demonstrate to its supporters that Hamas' political apparatus will deliver on election promises to rid the government of corruption.
Hamas and Fatah have tried to reach similar power-sharing agreements over the past year with little success. The failure of these past negotiations largely was caused by a spread of rivalries, the first of which involves a regional power play among Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
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