Palestinian factions to meet in Cairo next week

Representatives of Palestinian factions will meet in Cairo next week, where committees of delegates will be appointed to see through the implementation of a unity deal signed in the Egyptian capital last week. Head of the coalition of independent figures Abdul-Aziz Shiqaqi said in a statement Monday that the first committee to be appointed would be charged with the construction of a new Palestinian Authority cabinet, including prime minister and cabinet posts, according to Palestinian (Ma'an) news agency. Four other committees will also be appointed, Shiqaqi's statement said, including one set to lay down rules and guidelines for elections, the restructuring of the PLO, the reformulation of a national security force and a fourth on creating and maintaining an atmosphere of unity, likely to include a commission on the release of political prisoners. "The new cabinet, according to the agreement signed in Cairo, will prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections, resolve internal conflicts resulting from long years of rivalry, rebuild the Gaza Strip, and re-unite the institutions of the Palestinian Authority," Shiqaqi wrote. The official underlined a decision of signatories of the unity documents that all of the ministers which would be appointed in the upcoming cabinet will be technocrats, and not affiliated to any political party. Following the appointment of the committees and the launch of their work, Shiqaqi said an Egyptian delegation would visit the Gaza Strip and supervise the implementation of the agreement, and overseeing any "obstacles that come up." The announcement follows almost a week of waiting, as delegates headed home from the signing of the unity documents. Announcements in Cairo on 4 May had said implementation of the agreement would begin "immediately," but no timeline was set. Signing the unity deal set out a path to the reconciliation of the Palestinian territories under one government, following four years of discord and division between rival parties Fatah and Hamas, which headed separate governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively. Both governments remain in operation in a caretaker capacity, but say they are set to resign as soon as a technocrat government is in place.