Hamas said yesterday it had dissolved its de facto government in Gaza and was ready to hand over to a group of Palestinian technocrats – a move it described as a step forward in a US-backed plan for the enclave, but Israel dismissed as a ‘stunt’.
The group’s promise to end its body overseeing ministries – which has run for more than a decade – was a key part of the plan for a civilian-ruled, post-war Gaza set out by US President Donald Trump after the start of a fragile ceasefire with Israel in October.
Hamas said the ministries themselves and the staff it had appointed would stay in place and it would still oversee security and policing in parts of Gaza left under its control following the US-brokered truce.
The Trump-appointed Board of Peace, set up to monitor the plan, said it noted Hamas’ move. But it added that ‘ultimately, our assessment will be guided by actions, not promises, to meet the critical needs of the people of Gaza’.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed Hamas’ announcement. The group’s “apparent willingness to ‘make room’ for a technocratic government is designed to prevent its own disarmament,” Saar said on X.
“As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates,” Saar added. Israel insists on the full implementation of Trump’s plan, including Hamas laying down its weapons, he said.
Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and failing to go through with other parts of the plan, which calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza.
Meanwhile, a UN human rights body yesterday called Israel’s detention of Gazan doctor Hussam Abu Safiya arbitrary and urged his immediate release, as rights groups and his lawyer warned that his life was in imminent danger.
In its finding, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that Israel’s actions contravened multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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