Palestinian Rivals Hamas and Fatah Near Agreement For Post-War Gaza Governance


December 3, 2024 | Flash Brief

• Plans for Technocratic Governing Committee: Representatives of Hamas and Palestinian Authority (PA) officials affiliated with the rival Fatah faction are reportedly getting close to an agreement on a document outlining postwar governance in Gaza following talks in Cairo. Unnamed officials from both factions said on December 3 that the agreement would establish a committee of 10-15 nonpartisan technocrats with expertise in the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction that would answer to the head of the PA in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

• Allows Hamas to Remain in Gaza: The officials stated that the committee would prevent Hamas from governing Gaza, but news reports did not mention whether the agreement would allow the Iran-backed terrorist group to remain active. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that Israel would not accept Hamas — which still holds 101 Israeli hostages — remaining in Gaza or allow the PA as currently constituted to govern.

• Previous Attempts at Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation Failed: The agreement is one of numerous failed attempts at Palestinian reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, who have been in conflict since a brutal 2007 civil war between their supporters resulted in Hamas’s takeover of Gaza. On November 28, the 89-year-old PA President Mahmoud Abbas declared that the chairman of the Palestinian National Council, currently the 75-year-old Rawhi Fattouh, would become his temporary successor were he to die or to leave office.
FDD Expert Response

“While on the surface, it may seem that Hamas is attempting to ally with its long-time foe, Fatah, this is likely a strategic move solely based on survival, not national unity. One must not forget that Hamas’s goal is to survive the war and continue ruling Gaza. If Hamas is required to cede some power to Fatah to achieve its wartime objectives, it will likely do so out of self-interest.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“The attempts by Hamas and Fatah to form a joint committee to govern Gaza could point the way forward to decreasing the war against Hamas. However, the participation of Hamas in making plans for the committee likely shows that the group will seek to exploit the arrangement to return to power in Gaza and spread its terror tentacles to the West Bank.”— Seth J. Frantzman, Adjunct Fellow

“We should temper any optimism about Hamas relinquishing control of Gaza as part of this agreement. Fatah and Hamas have supposedly reconciled numerous times since 2007, yet these agreements have consistently proven fragile. Furthermore, the West Bank remains a hub for extremism and violence, making the PA an unreliable choice for governing Gaza post-Hamas. Entrusting it with this task is neither a sustainable nor effective strategy for deradicalizing the coastal enclave.” — Ahmad Sharawi, Research Analyst