Hamas Dissolved Its Government on Paper but Still Rules in Practice

Two decades after the curtain rose on Hamas’s reign in Gaza, the terrorist group would have us believe that it has taken its final bow.

On July 6, Hamas said that it had dissolved its “Emergency Committee,” the body that served as Hamas’s government in the Gaza Strip, to make way for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a committee of Palestinian technocrats assembled by the Trump administration, to assume power. Hamas said that “technical and professional staff” will remain in their positions and that Hamas-appointed officials will continue to “oversee security and policing in parts of Gaza.” In effect, the group will continue to rule at gunpoint, but quietly.

Nor has Hamas indicated that it will surrender control over Gaza’s bureaucracy, which the 13-member NCAG cannot unwind overnight. Rather, the group is advertising the dissolution of the Emergency Committee as openness to the Trump administration’s 20-point plan for Gaza, without taking the critical step of disarming.

Hamas Retains Grip on Gaza’s Bureaucracy

Hamas’s grip on Gaza will not end with its decision to dissolve its governing apparatus.

Since seizing the coastal enclave in 2007, Hamas has spent nearly two decades embedding itself into the machinery of government by integrating loyalists into ministries and local administrative bodies. The latest figures suggest that the Hamas-run bureaucracy includes more than 50,000 employees, including roughly 10,000 in the Interior Ministry and the police force alone.

Reuters reported in February that Hamas had appointed five governors, all linked to Hamas’s military wing, and placed Hamas figures in the Ministry of Economy. Since the adoption of the U.S. administration’s 20-point plan last October, Hamas has continued to collect taxes and pay salaries. A protest in April was held in Gaza’s Shati Camp in response to the Gaza Municipality “imposing taxes and doubled rent” on citizens. As one source told Reuters, the NCAG may be given “the car key,” and may even be allowed to drive, “but the car itself belongs to Hamas.”

NCAG Cannot Guarantee Security

The NCAG’s ability to provide security in Gaza will remain deeply questionable as long as Hamas retains its weapons.

NCAG chief Ali Shaath, a technocrat, has said the committee plans to deploy 5,000 Palestinian police officers as part of a transitional security force. Yet the recruitment standards omit the most important requirement: an explicit ban on Hamas members and affiliates, as well as members of other armed factions. That is especially worrying given reports that Hamas is seeking to fold its roughly 10,000-member police force into the NCAG’s security apparatus.

Even if the new force is thoroughly vetted and excludes Hamas members, the group’s refusal to disarm suggests that the NCAG will have neither the will nor the capacity to confront Hamas militarily. In such a scenario, the NCAG would create a façade of authority over Gaza while Hamas rules from the shadows.

Nor does the expected International Stabilization Force (ISF) solve the problem. For now, the ISF remains largely a concept; despite discussions about its composition, there is still no clear deployment plan or mandate.

No Meaningful Transition Without Hamas Disarmament

The Gaza Board of Peace, which is overseeing the implementation of Trump’s 20-point plan, said it had “taken note” of Hamas’s July 6 announcement but will continue to “be guided by actions, not promises.” That is the proper approach. Advancing the Gaza ceasefire, including the “genuine transfer of authority,” will only happen if Hamas agrees to surrender its weapons.

Washington must ensure that Turkey and Qatar, two members of the Gaza Board of Peace that are mediating talks with Hamas, do not go along with the group’s charade.

Unconditional, rather than phased, disarmament of Hamas should be the benchmark for progress. Moreover, the Trump administration must ensure that the NCAG police force, should it come to fruition, does not fold Hamas affiliates into its ranks.

Ahmad Sharawi and Natalie Ecanow are senior research analysts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from the authors, please subscribe HERE. Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. Follow Natalie on X @NatalieEcanow. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.