Hamas said it was ready to dissolve its government in Gaza on Sunday in favor of a Palestinian technocratic committee, as established in President Trump’s peace deal.
The terror group said it was instructing its government agencies that run day-to-day operations in Gaza to prepare for a transfer of power in response to the coming announcement from Trump to set up a Board of Peace that will lead the Palestinian enclave in the interim.
“Based on US President Trump’s statement of his intention to form a Board of Peace for the Gaza Strip, the Hamas movement has issued directives to all government entities and agencies to prepare to hand over all authorities to this independent Palestinian technocratic committee,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassem said in a statement.
“This decision is clear and final, and there are also instructions to facilitate the success of this Palestinian agency’s work, in line with the higher national interest and in keeping with the plan to end the war on the Gaza Strip,” he added.
Despite Hamas’ eagerness to have an independent Palestinian group run Gaza, it remains unclear who exactly would govern the territory in Hamas’ place.
Hamas — which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades — has called for the technocratic committee members to be named shortly, but the group is meant to be tapped by the Board of Peace, which has yet to be established.
Israel has said that Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov has been selected to serve as the board’s director-general, with officials from the US, Europe and the Middle East expected to be named in the coming days.
Under Trump’s plan, the Board will oversee the new Palestinian government, the withdrawal of Israeli troops in Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the deployment of an international security force.
While Hamas has agreed to cede power, it has repeatedly stated that it will not give up its arms until Israel agrees to a pathway for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The disagreements raise worries over the future of the already fragile cease-fire deal, with both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the terms of the truce since it was enacted last fall.
The continued Israeli bombardments in Gaza have killed more than 400 Palestinians since the truce began, according to the Hamas-run ministry of health, which does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.
Israel has previously warned that if the cease-fire fails, its military is prepared to renew intense operations in Gaza by March, with focus put on Gaza City, which had been spared the mass destruction of the earlier phases of the war, according to the Times of Israel.
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