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The Hamas movement announced in Cairo early on Sunday that it is ready to hand over the Gaza Strip to the consensus government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The group said in an emailed official press statement that it agreed to dissolve the "Administrative Committee, hand over the Gaza Strip to the consensus government of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, and hold general elections."
"Hamas invites the consensus government to come to Gaza to practice its mission and carry out its duties in the Gaza Strip immediately, and it accepts holding the general elections," said the Hamas leaflet.
It went on saying that it decided to make the announcement in response to the Egyptian efforts for achieving reconciliation and ending the internal Palestinian division.
The movement, which has been ruling the Gaza Strip since it seized the control of the Palestinian area in 2007, said it is ready to meet again in Cairo with Abbas' Fatah movement and other factions on the formation on a unity government.
"Hamas is ready to resume dialogue with the Fatah movement on implementing the Cairo reconciliation agreement of 2011 on the formation of a unity government with other Palestinian factions," said the leaflet.
In May 2011, Abbas and former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal signed in Cairo a reconciliation agreement, which included the formation of a unity government that prepares for general elections within six months.
However, the two sides failed to implement the agreement due to deep differences on handing security control to the Palestinian Authority, trading accusations against each other until April 2014.
In April 2014, Hamas, Fatah and the factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed on Shatti (Beach) an agreement at the house of the current Hamas chief Ismail Haneya in western Gaza and agreed to form a consensus technocrat government that runs both Gaza and the West Bank under the leadership of Rami Hamdallah.
The first consensus government was formed in June 2014.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
