Hamas government in Gaza resigns, but ministers remain

Hamas's governing body in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday the dissolution of its provisional government, a move intended to clear the path for a new, "peace-friendly" Palestinian administration appointed by Donald Trump's "peace council" to assume administrative control, at least on paper. The decision was reportedly influenced by threats from the peace council's director-general, Nickolay Mladenov, to classify Hamas as a "saboteur" of the council's guidelines.

Despite the dissolution, members of the civil Hamas administration are expected to remain in their positions for the time being. The technocratic government, comprising 15 members who have been waiting in Cairo for Hamas's approval to enter Gaza since January, is aligned with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and is led by engineer Ali Shaath. Progress on Gaza's reconstruction has been stalled due to the preoccupation of Trump and Gulf states with the Iran crisis.

Hamas, however, is demanding that its officials be integrated into and compensated by the new civil administration. The peace council's plan includes the deployment of Palestinian police forces in Gaza, a detail absent from Hamas's announcement. Furthermore, the plan calls for Hamas to be disarmed, a process for which no clear method has been outlined. While Israel estimates that over 15,000 Hamas fighters killed in recent years have been replaced by new recruits, the movement is unlikely to voluntarily relinquish its military power.

Israeli government sources dismissed Hamas's resignation as a ploy to evade sanctions and penalties from the peace council. They argue that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which previously allowed Qatar to fund Hamas, opposes the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian technocratic government in Gaza. Maintaining the division between the Fatah party on the West Bank, which recognizes Israel, and Hamas in Gaza remains a cornerstone of Netanyahu's long-term strategy, as it potentially hinders the revival of two-state solution negotiations, which have been stalled since 2008.