A senior Palestinian Arab source told the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas opposes an Egyptian initiative to establish a committee for the administration of the Gaza Strip.
In recent talks mediated by Egypt in Cairo, an agreement was reached between representatives of Fatah and Hamas to create a national committee to manage Gaza's affairs, which would replace the local administration that has been controlled by Hamas until now.
According to the agreement, the Gaza Affairs Committee will begin operating immediately after a final agreement is reached by representatives of the Palestinian Arab organizations and the publication of a decree on the matter. It will engage in talks with Israel regarding border crossings, according to the procedures that were in place before October 2023, and the operation of the Rafah crossing will be conducted according to the 2005 agreement with Israel.
The Palestinian Arab factions submitted to Egypt a list of 50 independent individuals from which 15 will be selected to serve in various roles within the committee, which will act as a local government under the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Arab source further stated that Egypt is determined to move forward with the establishment of the committee, whether with or without the participation of the Palestinian Authority, due to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Egypt has urged the US government to exert pressure on Abbas regarding this issue, and Egyptian sources confirmed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spoke with Abbas and asked him to remove the obstacles to the approval of the agreement to establish the committee.
The newspaper also reported that a senior member of the "Gaza Tribal Coalition" expressed disappointment over Abbas' position against the creation of the committee, saying it could thwart the achievement of a ceasefire agreement and a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, and would lead Hamas to face even harsher conditions under a Trump administration.