2012 Fatah–Hamas Cairo Agreement 2012 Fatah–Hamas Cairo Agreement The Fatah–Hamas 2012 Cairo Agreement was a reconciliation accord between the ruling Palestinian National Authority Fatah, and the fundamentalist organization Hamas, which currently rules over the Gaza Strip. Signed in May 2012 by Fatah's President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas' leader Khaled Mashal, the objective of the agreement was the formation of an interim government in preparation for the elections for a new Palestinian government. However, the agreement soon fell apart, and steps of major reconciliation were not made until January 2013. The Israeli and Palestinian conflict began in 1948 when the state of Israel was established.
Fatah Salah Abdel-Shafi told the BBC about the difficulties of Fatah leadership: "I think it's very, very seriousit's becoming obvious that they can't agree on anything." Fatah is "widely seen as being in desperate need of reform," as "the PA's performance has been a story of corruption and incompetenceand Fatah has been tainted." In December 2005, jailed Intifada leader Marwan Barghouti broke ranks with the party and announced that he had formed a new political list to run in the elections called the "al-Mustaqbal" ("The Future"), mainly composed of members of Fatah's "Young Guard." These younger leaders have repeatedly expressed frustration