An informed Palestinian source confirmed that an agreement was reached between the Fatah and Hamas movements to form a committee called the “Community Support Committee” to administer the Gaza Strip the day after the war.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the final agreement on the committee was reached after talks in Cairo, pending the matter being presented to President Mahmoud Abbas for approval and the issuance of a presidential decree regarding it.

The two-page document defines the committee as the body that will administer the Gaza Strip under the authority of the Palestinian government in Ramallah. The document includes six criteria for establishing the committee, which are: preserving the territorial integrity of the “Palestinian state” within the 1967 borders (in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza); communication between the Palestinian government in the West Bank and the committee in the Strip; that it be subordinate to the Palestinian political system; that the establishment of the committee not lead to the separation of Gaza from the rest of the Palestinian territories; that the formation of the committee take into account the selection of independent and qualified Palestinian national officials; and that the committee administer, coordinate with, and benefit from all local authorities in the Strip. The sixth criterion is that the committee’s work will continue until the reasons that led to its establishment are eliminated, or general elections are held, or another agreed-upon formula is adopted. This will be by national agreement and a decision by the President of the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas resorted to forming a support committee in the Strip, in an attempt to confront Israeli, regional and international attempts to bypass them.

Two sources from Fatah and Hamas said that there are persistent attempts to exclude the PA and Hamas from the “day after the war.” They added: “There are several proposals and discussions about who should govern the Strip, and that does not even include the Palestinian Authority.” They stressed that the message that the agreement is intended to send to this committee is that “the decision on the day after the war is a purely Palestinian issue.”

Over the past few months, the United States has been discussing with allies and partners, including Israel and regional states, a plan for the day after in Gaza, including a mix of Palestinian, Arab and international forces, a possible role for Palestinian officials abroad, American advisers, security companies and families. So far, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that the Palestinian Authority will not take over Gaza after the war, and has used his famous slogan, “No Fatahstan (Fatah), no Hamasstan (Hamas).”

Under the agreement, the committee will be affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, and will be responsible for providing and distributing humanitarian aid, managing civil affairs, and supervising the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the Rafah crossing.

The document stipulated that the committee would take over the Rafah crossing in accordance with the 2005 crossings agreement, which stipulates that the Authority would manage the Rafah crossing from the Gaza Strip side, with the presence of international observers there (a European mission) and a mechanism that would ensure Israeli security oversight from afar. This agreement, which addressed other crossings and even the presence of a seaport and a passage to the West Bank, was in effect for a short period before Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, and then took over the management of the Rafah crossing with the departure of the Authority and foreign missions. The United States and the European Union support a return to the agreement, but Israel refuses and does not want any official Palestinian Authority presence so far, and has offered a symbolic presence there.

The agreement between Fatah and Hamas, sponsored by Cairo, came as part of a broader plan that mediators are working on in order to reach a prisoner exchange agreement and a final cessation of the war in the Strip, followed by Israel’s withdrawal.

Israeli and Hamas officials have expressed some optimism about the possibility of advancing a deal in the Gaza Strip, though it was not immediately clear whether it would mean an end to the war or a prelude to it.

Last Saturday, Asharq Al-Awsat published that Hamas is more open than ever to a “gradual” agreement in Gaza similar to the Lebanon agreement, and this includes the movement’s readiness to accept a gradual agreement.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat sources, the movement is prepared to accept a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the disputed axes, such as the Philadelphi and Netzarim crossings. Hamas is also willing to have the Palestinian Authority assume responsibility for the Rafah crossing, especially if this would help open it immediately.

Regarding the “day after the war,” Hamas, according to the sources, agrees to facilitate the work of the committee agreed upon with the Authority to take over the management of the Strip, and agrees to Arab supervision, and has no objection to the Arab countries having a clear role in rescuing and reviving the Gaza Strip again.

The agreement with Lebanon prompted the United States and mediators to renew efforts for an agreement in Gaza, and it raised optimism in Israel and among Hamas about a possible agreement, although each side sees and wants it differently. The statement by US President-elect Donald Trump, in which he warned the Middle East of hell if an agreement is not reached before he takes office on January 20, put additional pressure on Israel, Hamas and the mediators.

While waiting for an agreement to be reached in Gaza, the Palestinians will work to obtain Arab approval for the committee’s work and market it to the United States and the West, in an attempt to persuade Israel to agree to it.

The sources said that the committee will work temporarily until the picture becomes clearer, and until the Palestinian Authority can regain control of the Gaza Strip. The paper touched on forming an international fund to rebuild the Gaza Strip, and continuing work on the Strip’s outlets according to the mechanism that was followed before the war, but it did not touch on the most sensitive issues, such as security control, weapons, and security services in the Gaza Strip, which are the most complex issues, and are largely linked to Israeli, American, and Arab approval.