The Palestinian militant group Hamas has announced the dissolution of the administrative body that has run the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, paving the way for a technocratic (non-political expert) committee to take over the administration of the war-torn and besieged Gaza.
The Gaza government media office confirmed the news in a statement on Monday (July 6). The statement said that the head of the government’s emergency committee, Mohammed al-Fara, has formally resigned from his post and has also announced the dissolution of the government’s emergency committee.
The statement added that the decision was taken to facilitate the process of administrative transition based on compromise and to demonstrate the sincerity of the steps taken.
After winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, Hamas took control of Gaza from its rival Fatah in 2007. Since then, the organization has been performing administrative duties in Gaza.
Since the US-brokered ceasefire with Israel took effect in October last year, Hamas has repeatedly said it is ready to withdraw from civilian administration. However, the future of the organization’s military wing and the question of disarmament remain unresolved.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that Hamas has taken a new step. It is withdrawing from direct administrative responsibility in the Gaza Strip so that the occupier does not find any excuse to continue the Israeli aggression and war of genocide.
He added that we hope that the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which was formed to administer Gaza, will enter Gaza quickly. Hamas is ready to hand over government responsibilities to this committee so that they can begin their work successfully.
Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Hani Mahmoud said that Hamas’s announcement is politically significant. According to him, this is an important concession by Hamas in order to advance the negotiations and end the long administrative vacuum by handing over civilian responsibilities to a technocratic committee.
However, he clarified that this decision does not mean that Hamas is abandoning its political or military role. Rather, it is simply withdrawing from direct civilian administration of Gaza.
