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.

In April 2011, they signed an agreement in Cairo, which intended to end the Fatah–Hamas conflict.

On February 7, 2012, the parties signed the Doha agreement in the Qatari capital Doha, placing Abbas at the head of an interim government of independent technocrats charged with organizing elections later in 2012.

[5] On May 20, 2012, Hamas and Fatah signed another agreement in Cairo, this time to prepare for elections for the new united government of the West Bank and Gaza.

Hamas, on the other hand, would not agree to compromise so long as Fatah continued to appease Israel.