Palestinian government meets in Gaza for first time in three years

The internationally recognised Palestinian government, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, has met in Gaza for the first time since 2014, amid fresh efforts to end a decade-long split between the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled coastal strip.A delegation led by Abbas’s prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, held a cabinet meeting in Gaza amid difficult negotiations for Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, to take over the administration of Gaza where more than 2 million people live in poverty.It was the first meeting of the cabinet in Gaza since November 2014, and comes a day after Hamdallah entered the territory for the first time since a unity government collapsed in June 2015.The negotiations have been facilitated by Egypt, largely by Cairo’s directorate of general intelligence, which has indicated an increasing willingness to play a role in Gaza.The head of Egyptian intelligence, Khaled Fawzy, has been a key figure in the negotiations and is due to visit Gaza to meet Hamas officials, including its leader, Ismail Haniya.

 

Source: Palestinian government meets in Gaza for first time in three years | World news | The Guardian