Hamas has announced it is dissolving its governing authority in Gaza after almost two decades in power, paving the way for a transitional technocratic body to take over.
The step could mark a milestone in implementing the US-backed Gaza peace plan, which also requires Hamas to disarm, after a war with Israel during which more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed.
At a media briefing held in Gaza, Ismail Al Thawabta, head of the Gaza government media office, announced that the head of Hamas's “government emergency committee” had resigned, the body had been dissolved and that its “powers have been transferred to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza”.
It paves the way for the NCAG, which was established under a UN Security Council resolution, to oversee the territory during an interim period.
“Hamas has taken this step to make it clear to everyone that it has relinquished all governing authority and power in Gaza and that it will not stand in the way of efforts to administer Gaza or of the work of the National Committee,” Gaza government spokesman Hazem Qassem told The National.
“This is a call to the main bodies to come to Gaza, assume government responsibilities and bring an end to the difficult period that the people of Gaza have been enduring as a result of the Israeli genocide.”
Mr Qassem said the decision had been made in co-ordination with mediators in Egypt, Qatar and Turkey to ensure the implementation of the US-backed Gaza ceasefire and reconstruction plan.
“We remain committed to implementing everything outlined in the plan,” he said. “This requires obliging the Israeli occupation to abide by its provisions and cease its violations and attacks in Gaza.”
However, an Israeli official said the move was “spin”, adding that “in practice, all the officials remain in their posts and Hamas continues to rule”.
Ali Shaath, chief commissioner at NCAG, said the technocratic committee “stands fully prepared to assume its national responsibilities as soon as the necessary conditions and enabling measures for its work are in place”.
“These prerequisites are fundamental to establishing the political, administrative, and security environment necessary for the Committee to carry out its responsibilities effectively, in a manner that serves the interests of all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” he added on X.
Nickolay Mladenov, high representative of the Board of Peace – the body charged with overseeing the implementation of the peace plan – said on Monday that the announcement “underscores the importance of bringing the road map discussions to a successful conclusion”.
“The sooner an agreement is reached on the outstanding implementation provisions, the sooner the NCAG can assume its responsibilities, the decommissioning of weapons and the withdrawal of Israeli forces can begin, and large-scale reconstruction can commence”, Mr Mladenov wrote on social media.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said the world body welcomes any step that contributes to the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and advances objectives in Security Council resolutions.
“We continue to support efforts towards unified Palestinian governance under the Palestinian Authority,” Mr Dujarric said.
The move comes days after mediators drew up a new proposal for the disarmament of Hamas that envisages Israel-backed militias in Gaza giving up their weapons and the rehabilitation of about 10,000 members of the territory's Hamas-linked police force to enforce law and order in the enclave.
Hamas has said the threat from the militias was one of the reasons for refusing to fully disarm, along with Israel's failure to provide adequate humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory under the terms of the peace plan.
The NCAG, according to the latest proposal, will also take over Hamas's “infrastructure”, referring to bases, weapons factories, underground tunnels and maps detailing their locations.
The NCAG was formed in January as part of the US-led plan, but Israel has said its members will not be allowed to enter Gaza until Hamas disarms.
“Israel must at this point make concessions and allow the commission into Gaza,” a source in Cairo told The National. “Hamas has already shown flexibility on the thorny issue of disarmament.”
Mediators had previously proposed that another UN-approved component of the plan – the international stabilisation force, which has yet to be formed – would oversee the delivery of Hamas's weapons to storage sites.
