Hamas seeks a settlement to secure the future of thousands of its police members
The movement has pledged to the civil employees of its government and to members of its police forces that they will be integrated into the Gaza Management Committee, calling on them to cooperate with it.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas is seeking to integrate its police force, numbering 10,000 members, into a new Palestinian committee tasked with administering the Gaza Strip with US support, a demand that Israel is likely to reject, as the movement considers whether to relinquish its weapons.
Hamas still controls just under half of the Gaza Strip following a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States last October. Under that agreement, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza is tied to the movement handing over its weapons.
The 20-point plan to end the war, now in its second phase, calls for transferring control of the territory to the National Committee for the Management of Gaza, a Palestinian technocratic body supervised by the United States, with the aim of excluding Hamas.
Hamas calls on its members to cooperate with the committee
The Hamas-run government in Gaza has called on more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel to cooperate with the National Committee for the Management of Gaza. In a message seen by Reuters, it assured them that it was working to integrate them into the new government.
Four informed sources said this would include the movement’s police forces, numbering around 10,000, a demand that had not previously been made public. Many of them were patrolling Gaza as Hamas tightened its grip on areas under its control.
It remains unclear whether Israel, which strongly opposes any role for the movement in Gaza’s future, will agree to integrating civilian and security staff into the committee.
Key points of contention remain
Hamas’s plans regarding the police forces and their members highlight the wide gaps between the movement and Israel, backed by the United States, as Trump presses ahead with his plans.
The US president hosted a signing ceremony last week to establish the proposed “Peace Council”, which would serve as a transitional administration to lay out a framework including a clause barring “foreign terrorist organizations” from participating in governance and coordinating funding for Gaza’s reconstruction.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters that the movement is ready to hand over administration immediately to the National Committee for the Management of Gaza, composed of 15 members and chaired by Ali Shaath.
He added: “We are certainly fully confident that it will act on the basis of making use of expertise and without depriving anyone who worked during the previous period of their rights,” referring to the inclusion of the 40,000 employees.
The four sources said Hamas is open to restructuring ministries and retiring some employees, noting that mass dismissals would carry a risk of chaos.
A Palestinian official said another problem lies in whether Sami Nasman, a former Palestinian Authority officer tasked with overseeing security under the National Committee for the Management of Gaza, will be able to operate effectively.
Nasman, originally from Gaza, moved to the occupied West Bank after Hamas expelled Palestinian Authority forces from the territory in 2007 following a brief civil war. A court affiliated with the movement in Gaza later issued an in absentia ruling against him after convicting him of incitement to chaos, which he denies.
Possibility of neutralizing weapons
According to a document released by the White House a few days ago, the Trump administration wants heavy weapons to be neutralized immediately, and for “personal weapons to be registered and phased out sector by sector once the police of the National Committee for the Management of Gaza are able to ensure personal security.”
A US official said on Tuesday that Hamas fighters would receive some form of amnesty. The armed movement is still believed to possess hundreds of rockets, according to diplomats, as well as thousands of light weapons, including rifles.
Sources said Hamas recently agreed to discuss disarmament with other Palestinian factions and with mediators, but two movement officials told Reuters that neither Washington nor the mediators have presented any detailed or concrete proposal for disarmament.
A Palestinian official close to the disarmament talks said the United States has contacted Hamas to explore potential mechanisms involving parties including Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
He revealed that “the movement spoke of the possibility of neutralizing weapons within the framework of a truce that could be reached, a long-term truce that might extend for five years or perhaps slightly more,” but added that it believes “it is absolutely necessary for this to be accompanied by the launch of a genuine political negotiation process aimed at achieving a Palestinian state, at which point the weapons and fighters would come under the authority of the Palestinian state.”
Hamas is not the only armed group in the territory. A source in a Gaza faction allied with the movement said other groups are also discussing disarmament but fear being left without weapons.
In remarks before parliament on Monday, Netanyahu said the next phase of the Gaza agreement “will not be for reconstruction,” adding that it “will be for the disarmament of the territory and the disarmament of Hamas.
