Hamas moves to dissolve Gaza governing committee
Shafaq News- Gaza
Hamas is preparing to dissolve its de facto governing body in the Gaza Strip after nearly two decades in power, clearing the way for a technocratic administration, two sources within the movement told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday.
The Government Follow-up Committee, Gaza’s de facto executive authority, could be dissolved as early as July 6, allowing the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which is headed by Palestinian official Ali Shaath and was formed about six months ago but has yet to enter Gaza because of Israeli objections, to assume its role.
Asharq Al-Awsat indicated that Hamas and other Palestinian factions are expected to meet in Cairo within the next two days to narrow remaining disputes over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Talks with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators have resolved several issues, leaving negotiations focused on the proposed roadmap’s eighth clause concerning the future of weapons in Gaza.
Hamas, according to the sources, supports a gradual process of placing weapons under the authority of a Palestinian body while demanding a full Israeli withdrawal from areas still under Israel’s control, estimated at about 70% of the territory.
The High Representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, has arrived in Egypt to join the negotiations alongside US officials affiliated with the Peace Board and members of the International Stabilization Force, the newspaper said, but noted that it could not independently verify his participation.
Last month, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the movement had approached the latest round of negotiations “positively and responsibly,” stressing there would be “no retreat” from transferring administrative responsibilities in Gaza to the NCAG once it can assume its duties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously declared that Gaza no longer posed a threat to Israel because of the military’s presence in “a new security zone,” reiterating that reconstruction would not proceed without disarmament.
