Fatah–Hamas reconciliation process December 2012, in the aftermath of the UN status upgrade of the State of Palestine and the conflict in Gaza, calls for a unified Palestinian front have increased and the political leaders of Hamas and Fatah took several steps to reconcile their differences. In a televised address, PA President Mahmoud Abbas stressed that talks with Hamas would immediately follow the Palestinians' bid to upgrade their status at the UN General Assembly—an effort that succeeded. On 13 December, Fatah allowed Hamas to hold its first rally in the West bank since 2007, and on 4 January 2013, Hamas reciprocated by allowing
Water supply and sanitation in the State of Palestine the Gaza strip since 2008, including differences between municipalities governed by Hamas and Fatah, so that some municipalities refused to transfer their assets and staff to CMWU. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are very active in the field of water and wastewater treatment and reuse. One NGO network is the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON) that was initiated after the 2000 al-Aqsa Intifada. It has more than 20 members, including NGOs, universities and research centers. Two management contracts were awarded for Gaza in 1996 and for the Bethlehem area in 1999. In 2002, soon after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, the