Palestinian political factions are holding closed-door discussions that could see Hamas play a role in shaping a postwar administration in Gaza, despite Israel’s vow to eliminate the militant group’s political influence in the enclave and a decades-old feud between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
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The eight Palestinian factions and armed groups involved in the discussions — including most notably the Fatah party, which leads the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank, and Hamas — are working to reach a consensus over key elements of an interim administration as early as this week, when they meet again in Cairo, according to Palestinian and other Arab officials and individuals involved in the talks.
In particular, the parties are wrestling over who should head a proposed technocratic committee to run Gaza and whether this de facto cabinet should operate under the aegis of the Palestinian Authority, “if” the current ceasefire holds.
The militant movement is among eight Palestinian groups meeting in Cairo to hammer out proposed features of an interim administration for Gaza.
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A pivotal question is whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — or President Donald Trump, whose peace plan calls for a new administration — would object to a Gazan government born out of talks between Hamas and Fatah?
Given the fierce rivalry between Fatah and Hamas ever since the birth of Hamas in 1987, observers of Palestinian politics say that even a limited agreement between the two groups would amount to a historic development. If reconciled, they could form the basis for a “
future” Palestinian state combining the West Bank and Gaza.
Two years after Israel launched a devastating war (due to…?) to eradicate Hamas, and three weeks after the ceasefire was announced, the inter-Palestinian talks reflect a simple truth:
Hamas remains an armed and influential presence in the Gaza Strip. To avoid a protracted postwar insurgency, Hamas must be included in any political settlement, say Palestinian political factions and mediators from Arab countries.
“The last thing you want is for an ideological movement like Hamas to be completely excluded and forced underground, which could lead to an even more radical manifestation,” said Dimitri Diliani, a spokesman for the Fatah Reformist Democratic faction led by the Gazan politician Mohammed Dahlan. “It is important that they feel involved in the political process, while at the same time having no “direct” practical role in governance itself.” (???)
The Palestinian administrative body, if formed, could work alongside or potentially supplant the international “Board of Peace” envisioned in Trump’s plan and handle policing inside Gaza instead of foreign troops now being considered for that role, said Palestinian and Arab officials and other individuals involved in the talks.
The exact mandate of the international Board of Peace, including its relationship with the Palestinian committee, should be decided by the U.N. Security Council, Abdelatty (Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty) said.
View attachment 31855But Egypt and Palestinian factions are adamant that civilian affairs in Gaza should be managed by Palestinians.
For Israel, nearly every aspect of the inter-Palestinian talks — from the involvement of Hamas in the Gaza committee’s formation to the discussions over Hamas-affiliated bureaucrats and security forces potentially staying in place — is unpalatable.
“The fear for Israel is that Hamas will open the gates of Gaza and say to the PA, ‘You’re the boss here. Just bring money to Gaza and you can declare yourself the minister of agriculture or education. Just don’t touch weapons, and we’ll be the dominant player,” said Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst of Palestinian affairs.
With their shared anxiety over a resurgent Hamas, Netanyahu may actually find an ally in Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, said Khaled Okasha, an Egyptian consultant who has advised Palestinian and Egyptian delegations in ceasefire negotiations. The authority “fears there is a U.S.-Hamas agreement behind the scenes” to the effect that Hamas may be able to play some role in Gaza in the future, Okasha said. “The Palestinian Authority wants more than Israel that Hamas is totally removed from Gaza.”
Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, said it’s not clear how the Trump administration will respond to the Gaza committee once it is assembled by Egypt. Washington will ultimately have to give a “thumbs-up or thumbs-down” to a Gazan government that may bear the imprimatur, however subtle, of Hamas, he said.
“We might see a technocratic committee that does not have nominal, card-carrying Hamas members but has people who will not work against Hamas’s interests,” Shapiro said. “There is a risk that the end state that emerges will be what we wanted to avoid and something akin to the end of previous Israel-Hamas wars: Hamas is battered and bruised but hanging on to power, preparing for the next round.”
The militant movement is among eight Palestinian groups meeting in Cairo to hammer out proposed features of an interim administration for Gaza.
apple.news
So if this proceeds, & Hamas stays in power, even if nominally from the background, and remains armed…or “surrendered its weapons to itself” or what have you…& it’s offensive military infrastructure like it’s tunnel system remains intact…how long until Oct 7th 2.0?
…assuming it ever relinquishes control that is.
