Representatives from Fatah and Hamas will meet in Egypt next month to discuss the proposal and attempt to reach a final agreement. There are “no guarantees” that the two sides will reach an agreement, but they will make serious efforts to do so, Abbas said.
The Fatah group, led by Abbas, and rival terrorist group Hamas clashed in 2007 over control in Gaza, where most residents support Hamas but Fatah maintained control. In June of 2007 Hamas won control of the area in a brief round of fighting that ended with dozens dead and the flight of senior Fatah members from the area.
Prior to the 2007 clashes, Hamas and Fatah shared control of the PA, which was based in Ramallah. Since the clashes, Hamas has headed its own branch of the PA in Gaza, while Fatah rules the PA in Judea and Samaria. Sporadic fighting between the groups has continued and each group has accused the other of kidnapping and torturing its political rivals.
Israeli leaders have threatened to discontinue negotiations with the PA if Fatah and Hamas reunite. While Fatah officially supports peace talks with Israel, Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, referring to it instead as “the Zionist entity,” and continues to call for the country's destruction. Hamas also publicly encourages the murder of Jews in Israel and around the world.
Since Fatah took full control of Judea and Samaria in 2007, Israel has made several concessions to Abbas, including allowing the import of weapons for use by PA troops, releasing hundreds of terrorists from prison and removing hundreds more from Israel's “wanted” list and supporting the deployment of armed PA forces in several major cities including Shechem, Jenin and Hevron. The PA forces, which include former members of terrorist groups such as Fatah and Islamic Jihad, have been allowed to deploy in order to fight Hamas and prevent a takeover in Judea and Samaria similar to that in Gaza. If Hamas and Fatah reunite, the weapons and control over PA troops may be split between both groups.