Egypt intel czar in Gaza for Hamas-Fatah reconciliation

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Egyptian intelligence chief Khaled Fawzi arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday for talks with members of the Palestinian unity government.

On the same day, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah held his first cabinet meeting in the blockaded strip since the unity government was drawn up in 2014.

While in Gaza, Fawzi is also expected to meet with Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Earlier Tuesday, the Egyptian intelligence chief met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

No details have yet been released regarding what was discussed between Abbas and Fawzi.

Egypt is currently leading efforts to heal a decade-long political rift between Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah group.

The West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been politically divided since 2007, when Hamas wrested control of the strip from Fatah following several days of street fighting.

Hamas’s capture of Gaza ended a short-lived unity government established after Hamas swept 2006 legislative polls, the results of which were rejected by Fatah, Israel and the international community.