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DOHA: A Hamas source close to the group’s negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it will not participate in post-war Gaza governance, as world leaders prepare to converge on Egypt for a Gaza peace summit.
The source’s comments come days after an Israel-Hamas ceasefire came into effect, and as both sides discuss implementing US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war, which calls for Hamas’ disarmament and for the group not to be involved in running post-war Gaza.
“For Hamas, the governance of the Gaza Strip is a closed issue. Hamas will not participate at all in the transitional phase, which means it has relinquished control of the Strip, but it remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric,” the source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Unlike other more top-heavy militant organizations in the region, Hamas’ leadership has in the past been divided on key issues, including on the future administration of Gaza.
But where there appears to be no division among top members is on the question of disarmament, which the group has long described as a red line.
“Hamas agrees to a long-term truce, and for its weapons not to be used at all during this period, except in the event of an Israeli attack on Gaza,” the source said.
Another Hamas official who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive topics had earlier told AFP that Hamas’ disarmament was “out of the question.”
The first clause of Trump’s 20-point plan calls for Gaza to become a “deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.”
The plan also states Hamas will not have a role in future governance of the Strip, and that its military infrastructure and weapons should be “destroyed and not rebuilt.”
Under Trump’s plan, a temporary technocratic and apolitical Palestinian committee would be charged with the day-to-day running of public services.
The source close to the negotiators said they had asked for mediator Egypt to call a meeting before the end of next week to agree on the composition of this committee, adding that “the names are almost ready.”
“Hamas, along with the other factions, have submitted 40 names. There is absolutely no veto over them, and none of them belong to Hamas,” he added.

BEIRUT: The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said Sunday that one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been working with the Lebanese army to support a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah that culminated in two months of open war.
“Just before noon yesterday, an Israeli drone dropped a grenade that exploded near a UNIFIL position” in Kfar Kela, the force said in a statement published on Sunday.
“One peacekeeper was lightly injured and received medical assistance.”
Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped multiple grenades near peacekeepers providing security for workers clearing rubble left over from the war.
And in a similar episode in September, UNIFIL said Israeli drones had dropped four grenades near peacekeepers, with Israel insisting at the time that there had been “no intentional fire” directed at the force.
UNIFIL said Saturday’s incident represented “another serious violation of resolution 1701 and concerning disregard for the safety of peacekeepers.”
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ended a 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and formed the basis of the November ceasefire.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah and Israel were both required to withdraw from south Lebanon, while UNIFIL deployed there alongside the Lebanese military, in part to help dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure.
Israel has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon on what it says are Hezbollah targets despite the truce, and has maintained its troops in five locations it deems strategic.
“We again call on the (Israeli army) to cease attacks on or near peacekeepers, who are working to rebuild the stability that both Israel and Lebanon have committed to restore,” the UN peacekeeping force said.
UNIFIL has been deployed since 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, and numbers some 10,000 personnel from almost 50 countries.
In August, the Security Council voted to end UNIFIL’s mission in 2027.