Hamas hands over Gaza border crossings to PA
Palestinian Hamas movement has handed over administrative control of Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings on the Israeli border and Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border to Palestinian Authority.
Wednesday's handover, the first in over a decade, is part of deals agreed on in the latest round of Egypt-brokered reconciliation between Hamas and the PA-ruled Fatah political party in Cairo on October 12.
Fatah spokesperson Osama Qawasmeh told Al Jazeera that no conditions were set by Fatah or Hamas over the handover.
"The issue is simply a matter of restoring the status quo back under the Palestinian Authority's control, as was the case before the 2007 split," he said, referring to the political schism that ended with Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip after an attempted coup by US-backed Fatah strongman Mohammad Dahlan.
In a statement on Tuesday, the PA minister of civil affairs Hussein al-Sheikh said that the national unity government is prepared to work closely with the Egyptian authorities, in order for the Rafah border crossing to function by November 15 as specified by the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access.
Rafah, the main border south of the strip, has been largely closed to Gaza's population of two million since Hamas took over.
The other crossing, Erez, is located in the north of the strip and is run by Israel.
The PA will also be in charge of the three cargo crossing points of Karni, Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) and Sufa.
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