CAIRO, Jan 26 - Hamas is pressing for formal inclusion of its security apparatus, including about 10,000 police officers, within a proposed U.S.-backed Palestinian administration to govern Gaza, according to individuals familiar with the matter. The demand comes as the militant movement weighs whether and how to relinquish its weapons under an agreement that conditions further Israeli troop withdrawals on Hamas decommissioning arms.
The longer-term governance model under discussion is the 20-point plan to end the conflict, which has moved into a second phase. That plan calls for authority in Gaza to be transferred to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza - a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body meant to operate with U.S. oversight and, in principle, to exclude Hamas from formal control.
In a letter circulated to staff on Sunday, Gaza's Hamas-run government urged more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel to cooperate with the NCAG and said it was seeking ways to integrate them into the incoming administration. The correspondence also referenced efforts to preserve rights for those who worked under the existing administration while enabling a transition to the new structure.
Four people familiar with the discussions said that the group of personnel the letter referred to encompasses roughly 10,000 members of the Hamas-run police force - officers who have been carrying out patrols and other security duties in areas where Hamas has maintained control. That element of the demand has not previously been disclosed publicly.
It remains uncertain whether Israel - which has repeatedly stated it will not accept a role for Hamas in Gaza's future governance - will approve the inclusion of those civil and security workers within the NCAG. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Personnel, governance and sticking points
The question of whether to retain existing workers and security personnel within the NCAG underscores a set of unresolved issues between the parties. Washington and its regional partners have begun shaping an administrative framework intended to coordinate reconstruction funding and redevelopment efforts, but that blueprint also contains a clause aimed at preventing participation by groups designated as "foreign terrorist organizations."
Hamas has indicated readiness to cede governance to the NCAG and its designated chair, Ali Shaath, with immediate effect, while pressing for a role for current staff. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the group has "full confidence" that the NCAG will make use of qualified personnel and protect the rights of those employed in the previous administration, a reference to the 40,000 civil and security employees.
Sources familiar with internal discussions described Hamas as open to allowing the NCAG to reorganize ministries and to retire some workers as part of a restructuring process. Those same sources warned that mass dismissals could produce instability and risk undermining basic services, a dynamic that could affect both governance and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
To date, Hamas and NCAG Chair Shaath have not met face to face to negotiate governance arrangements, a Hamas official said. Shaath's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Security oversight and the question of Sami Nasman
Another area of uncertainty is the operational ability of Sami Nasman, the former Palestinian Authority general whom the NCAG has assigned to oversee security. Nasman, a Gaza native who moved to the occupied West Bank after Palestinian Authority forces were expelled from the enclave in 2007, was later sentenced in absentia by a Gaza court that accused him of instigating chaos - an accusation Nasman denies.
Whether Nasman will be able to function effectively in Gaza under the NCAG's security arrangements is an open question cited by a Palestinian official involved in the discussions.
Disarmament mechanics under negotiation
U.S. planners have outlined a requirement for heavy weapons to be decommissioned at once, with a phased process for personal arms to be registered and neutralized sector by sector as NCAG police units demonstrate the capability to provide personal security, according to a document circulated by the White House.
A U.S. official said that fighters affiliated with Hamas would be offered some form of amnesty as part of arrangements tied to disarmament. The movement is still believed to possess both rockets - which diplomats estimate in the hundreds - and thousands of light weapons, including rifles.
Hamas has agreed to discuss disarmament with other Palestinian factions and with mediators, but two Hamas officials said neither Washington nor the mediators had yet produced a detailed or concrete disarmament proposal for the group to consider. A Palestinian official close to the talks said the U.S. had approached Hamas to explore disarmament mechanisms that could involve parties such as Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
The Palestinian official said Hamas had raised the possibility of neutralizing arms as part of a truce and indicated the group would be open to a long-term ceasefire - "five years or a little longer." The official added that Hamas insists any durable solution should be paired with a serious political negotiation on Palestinian statehood, under which weapons and fighters would ultimately be placed under the authority of the State of Palestine.
Other armed factions in Gaza also possess weapons. A source in a Gaza faction aligned with Hamas said those groups were discussing disarmament but were concerned about the prospect of being left without means of defense.
Israeli position and next phase priorities
In remarks to parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu framed the next phase of the Gaza agreement not as reconstruction, but as demilitarization and the disarming of Hamas. That stance signals a core Israeli objective that intersects directly with the proposed NCAG's remit and the broader international effort to manage security and reconstruction in Gaza.
The competing priorities - inclusion of existing civil and security workers, assurances around public order and services, mechanisms for arms decommissioning, and the political status of Palestinian governance - leave significant gaps to bridge between Hamas, Israel and international actors as they move toward implementing the second phase of the agreement.
How those impasses are resolved will determine whether the NCAG can assume administrative control while satisfying security demands tied to troop withdrawals, and whether a credible path exists for neutralizing weapons without precipitating destabilizing personnel changes.