Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s western-backed Palestine Authority, which is controlled by Fatah, fought a war with Hamas over Gaza in 2007, which led to Hamas taking over. Egypt has been brokering talks with Abbas’s Fatah group to implement a deal signed in 2011 in Cairo with Islamist Hamas to end its dispute and form an interim government before elections. In July this year it emerged Gaza’s Hamas movement was seeking a rapprochement with the Palestinian leader once regarded as its greatest enemy, as the Islamist group faces unprecedented challenges from all sides. Hamas’s position has been weakened by developments in the region, including Saudi-led moves against Qatar, once a major financial contributor to Gaza. The electricity crisis, aimed at forcing Hamas to return the territory to the Palestinian Authority’s control, comes on top of Gaza’s many other woes.

Source: The Guardian September 17, 2017 03:36 UTC