Hamas allows exiled Dahlan supporters to return to Gaza

The ruling party in Gaza has allowed for prisoner releases and the return of certain Fatah members as part of its agreement with Dahlan's political bloc.

MENA

2 min read

Robert Cusack

31 August, 2017

Dahlan [right] met Hamas chief, Haniya after their political agreement [Facebook]

Hamas is currently preparing to allow hundreds of Fatah members to return to the Gaza Strip, as part of its agreement with exiled Fatah member, Mohammad Dahlan.

The ruling party in Gaza is creating a list of names of those who may return – related to around 90 percent of Fatah members who fled Gaza after Hamas took power.

Chief among those who are set to return is Dahlan's right-hand man, Samir Mashrawi, controversial in Gazan politics for his personal role in persecuting Hamas members during the 1990s.

Mashrawi's return symbolises a major return to Palestinian politics for Dahlan and some pundits have pointed out the importance of a Fatah movement in Gaza separate from Fatah in the West Bank.

Palestine President in the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas, attempted a policy of 'starve or kneel' with the besieged Gaza Strip for months – leading to Hamas' unlikely alliance with its one-time enemy in Dahlan.

The Fatah list of returnees forms part of a string of goodwill measures agreed between Hamas and Dahlan in Cairo that gave rise to important UAE investments in the besieged Strip.

Hamas on Tuesday also agreed to the release of three prominent prisoners, including Hassan Mohammed Al-Zant, the would-be assassin of current Hamas chief, Ismail Haniya.

According to Fatah's Committee on Community Reconciliation, the two others released were Ahad Abu Qamar and Subhi Abu Dahi.