CAIRO (Ma’an) -- A delegation of Hamas officials have arrived in Cairo as President Abbas and PLO members are expected to arrive within the next few days to announce the structure of a transitional government.
Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief-in-exile Khalid Mashaal signed an agreement in Doha on Monday which stipulated that Abbas will head an interim government.
The accord also included agreements on releasing political prisoners, reforming the Palestinian National Council and activating the PLO for the next elections, Palestine TV said.
While media in the Egyptian capital was focused on the recent football tragedy, politicians in the country have been speculating over reasons behind the Doha agreement, a Ma'an source in Cairo said.
Quoting unnamed officials, Ma'an's reporter said that some believed an internal split within both Hamas and Fatah encouraged the Doha agreement.
“Ismail Haniyeh deliberately left Qatar only hours before President Abbas and Khalid Mashaal arrived, while the PA prime minister Salam Fayyad caused a severe financial crisis to his government creating tension in the Palestinian arena,” one analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
Other analysts suggested to Ma'an's correspondent that Qatar mobilized significant financial resources behind the Palestinian factions in order for them to reach a deal in Doha. The agreement puts a spotlight on the Qatari capital while potentially appeasing Arab nationalist parties in the region who believe Qatar has taken an antagonizing stance towards Syria.
PFLP official Kayid al-Ghoul told Ma'an that while welcoming the Doha agreement, it is "worth knowing why the mechanisms set by the reconciliation committees were not put into effect earlier.”
Fatah and Hamas agreed to end four years of bitter dispute and rival governments in May 2011, but the deal has repeatedly stalled as disagreements rumble on. The candidate to lead an interim unity government had been a key sticking point.
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