Hamas is proposing the formation of an independent government of non-partisan individuals to govern post-war Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank during ceasefire negotiations, a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement’s political bureau revealed on Friday.
“We have suggested that a non-partisan national competency government oversee Gaza and the West Bank after the conflict,” stated Hossam Badran in reference to the ongoing discussions between Hamas and Israel with mediation from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. “The management of Gaza post-war is an internal Palestinian affair with no external interference, and we will not engage in discussions about the future of Gaza with external parties,” Mr. Badran emphasized.
According to a Hamas official speaking to AFP, the proposal for a non-partisan government was presented “through the mediators.”
The government will be responsible for “administrating the affairs of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the initial phase following the conflict, leading to the holding of general elections,” stated the official, who chose to remain anonymous.
Mr. Badran’s statements followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on Israel retaining control of the Philadelphi corridor, a strip of Gaza land along the border with Egypt. This stance contradicts Hamas’s position that Israel must completely withdraw from Gaza territory post-ceasefire.
Mr. Netanyahu justified the control of the Philadelphi corridor as necessary to prevent “weapons from being smuggled to Hamas from Egypt.”
Negotiations are currently taking place in Doha, Qatar and Cairo, Egypt with the objective of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and securing the release of hostages still held by Hamas.
The conflict commenced on October 7 with an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,195 individuals, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP report based on Israeli data. The militants also took 251 hostages, with 116 still detained in Gaza, including 42 whom the military believes to be deceased.
In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has claimed the lives of at least 38,345 individuals in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, as reported by the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
