CAIRO
Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas on Thursday agreed to implement the terms of a reconciliation agreement signed in April.
Representatives of the two factions agreed to allow the new Palestinian unity government to assume immediate control of the Gaza Strip, one Fatah member – who attended reconciliation meetings in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday – told Anadolu Agency.
An April reconciliation deal ended seven years of rift between the two factions and eventually led to a new unity government in June.
The new government, however, has yet to assume control of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip – especially in terms of security.
On Thursday, Fatah and Hamas agreed that 3,000 Palestinian Authority (PA) policemen would be merged into Gaza's security apparatus, the Fatah member said.
The two sides, he added, had also agreed to allow PA employees to monitor Gaza's border crossings with Israel. They also agreed to allow the PA to supervise reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip in the wake of Israel's devastating 51-day military onslaught.
The Israeli offensive left more than 2,150 Palestinians dead, more than 11,000 injured, and thousands of residential structures in ruins.
On October 12, Egypt is slated to host an international donors' conference devoted to the reconstruction of the shattered coastal territory.
Blockaded by Israel since 2007, the Gaza Strip has seven border crossings linking it to the outside world. Six of these are controlled by Israel, while a seventh – the Rafah crossing – is controlled by Egypt, which keeps it tightly sealed for the most part.
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