GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – The leader of Hamas said on Thursday that his group has reached an agreement with the rival Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after Egyptian-brokered talks about the terms of control of the Gaza Strip.
Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that details would be announced later in the day in Cairo. The development follows two days of Hamas-Fatah talks in Cairo under what Haniyeh called “generous Egyptian auspices.”
The talks marked the latest in a series of attempts to end a decade-long Palestinian territorial, political and ideological split that has crippled Palestinian statehood aspirations.
In 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliament elections, the Islamic militant Hamas evicted Abbas’ Western-backed Palestinian Authority from Gaza. Abbas was left with autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Over the past decade, each side deepened its control over its territory, making it increasingly difficult to forge compromises.