Hamas has repeatedly declared its readiness to hand over authority to the Gaza Administration Committee immediately. However, the transfer has yet to materialize, with Israel still barring the body from entering the enclave.
A Palestinian source close to the committee told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas is trying to integrate its members, particularly police personnel, into the body, a move the committee has rejected.
The source said Hamas’s insistence on maintaining a presence in the “day after” the war was further underscored by an informed Egyptian source, who told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group’s public rhetoric does not reflect reality.
Hamas, the Egyptian source said, is seeking to ensure the integration of thousands of its members and secure their salaries, a step opposed not only by the committee but also clearly rejected by Israel and the US.
The Egyptian source added that Israel is adopting a similar approach, delaying the committee’s entry to assume its duties, while mediators, particularly Cairo, are working to ensure the committee operates independently as agreed.
Asharq Al-Awsat sought comment from Hamas but received no response. The group has repeatedly said in recent weeks in official statements that it is ready to hand over its responsibilities to the Gaza Administration Committee.
On Jan. 17, the High Representative of the Gaza Board of Peace, Nikolay Mladenov, said that the committee will work with mediators and all parties to create the conditions that enable the Palestinian technocratic committee to assume its responsibilities.
On Jan. 29, The Times of Israel reported that “Israel assesses that Hamas will formally transfer Gaza’s administration to a new Palestinian technocratic committee, but will effectively remain in control on the ground in the near term, with tens of thousands of gunmen, security apparatuses and key employees remaining.”
Tarek Fahmy, a professor of political science and specialist in Palestinian and Israeli affairs, said Hamas was seeking to buy time and execute a distraction plan by presenting public statements that differ from its actual objectives. This move threatens the “Gaza agreement,” which he said is also jeopardized by Israel’s refusal to allow the committee into the enclave.
Palestinian political analyst Abdel Mahdi Motawea said Hamas aims to control Gaza from within, applying what he described as the formula of “we left the government” while not relinquishing power in practice.
He pointed to the group’s cadres embedded in health, education, and police institutions, adding that the committee’s efforts to reach agreements with private security companies underscored that trajectory.
He warned of concerns that Hamas may seek to retain light weapons under any disarmament deal, in addition to integrating its members into the police, arguing that such a scenario could allow the group to repeat what it did during the 2005 takeover through its armed elements’ control of the enclave.
The potential rejection of integrating Hamas members coincides with US moves to deploy an international stabilization force and disarm Hamas, an announcement expected at the first meeting of the Board of Peace on Feb. 19, alongside support for reconstruction plans, two senior US officials told Reuters on Friday.
The meeting’s agenda includes detailed reports on the work of the newly formed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, established to manage the enclave’s day-to-day civil affairs in place of Hamas. The committee held its first meeting in January and announced its formation.
Fahmy said Washington is likely to push for the deployment of stabilization forces to support the committee’s work and grant them authority to disarm Hamas if the group continues to stall. He added that Israel could also be given the right to conduct expanded operations in this regard.
The matter will become clearer after the Board of Peace meeting and its outcomes, he said, amid US President Donald Trump’s priorities this month related to the Iran file.
Motawea said Trump and Israel are likely to press ahead with plans to reshape Gaza’s identity through reconstruction initiatives, leaving no room for Hamas in any form. Any suggestion otherwise on the ground, he said, threatens the Gaza agreement and risks derailing it.
Hamas, he added, is playing for time, betting on Israeli elections that could bring change and allow it to remain, as well as on the duration of the US president’s term.
“This is pure illusion on their part,” he said. “It will not be accepted by the US or Israel, and we will return to war once again.”
