Fatah and Hamas taking steps to form a unity government
PPO/Getty Images


On Wednesday, rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah announced that after two days of talks in Gaza, they have agreed to begin working together again for the first time in seven years. Fatah spokesman Fayez Abu Eitta said that an interim government could be finalized in five weeks.
As CNN reports, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza have been run separately since the mid-2000s, with Fatah governing in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. The split began in 2006, after Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian parliament, and was further fractured when Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. The new talks began earlier in the week, after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sent a delegation of Fatah members to meet with Hamas representatives.
After the news broke, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office canceled peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority that were set to take place Wednesday night. In a statement, Netanyahu said that Abbas "needs to choose between peace with Israel and an agreement with Hamas.... Whoever chooses Hamas does not want peace." Israel does not recognize Hamas, and considers it to be a terrorist organization (as does the U.S.).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There are still many questions that need to be answered about the reconciliation of Fatah and Hamas, including who would lead this new united government and when new elections could be held.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media