Hamas official says group ready to cede Gaza Strip civilian governance

For nearly two decades, Hamas has been in charge of governing the Gaza Strip, overseeing its border crossings, schools and hospitals. But after nine months of a ruinous war with Israel, the militant group is now expressing readiness to give up civilian governance in Gaza, albeit without dismantling its military wing.

The overture by Hamas is meant to signal to the international community Hamas’ apparent readiness to make some concessions to enable the rebuilding of Gaza. It also arrives against the backdrop of ongoing ceasefire negotiations, in which Hamas has shown some flexibility on the language in a proposed deal.

‘‘First and foremost, we want the Palestinian people in Gaza to recover from this war,’’ Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, said in an interview in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Hamas, Badran said, would support the formation of a government for Gaza and the occupied West Bank led by independent figures who could work with foreign officials on reconstructing the coastal enclave.

Under a framework ceasefire agreement being discussed in Qatar and Egypt, Hamas, considered a terrorist organisation by the US and other countries, would allow a security force loyal to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to assert control over Gaza, according to the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

For Israel, any role for Hamas in postwar Gaza, even an indirect one, is likely to be rejected out of hand. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to dismantle Hamas’ military and governing capabilities. He has also referred to the so-called day after the war in Gaza – a phrase used to describe plans for the territory – as the ‘‘day after Hamas.’’

But Hamas remains a formidable force in Gaza, with thousands of active fighters, and many experts say they believe its approval is needed for any plan to rebuild Gaza.

United Nations officials have estimated that rebuilding Gaza will cost tens of billions of dollars, but many donor countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation, restricting their ability to work with Hamas-linked institutions in Gaza. An independent government without ties to Hamas could collaborate with the US, European nations and international organisations to start rebuilding the territory.

The only qualification, he said, was that the members of the government had to be ‘‘nationalistic’’ and ‘‘reliable,’’ and supported by the various Palestinian factions, including the most prominent: Hamas and Fatah.

But Hamas and Fatah have been at loggerheads for years, each attempting to present itself as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people. Palestinian analysts remain sceptical that they would agree to join in a united Palestinian front.

Badran said Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, was blocking the idea.

Munir al-Jaghoub, a Fatah official in the West Bank, said that Badran’s talk about giving up control in Gaza was just a smoke screen, arguing that Hamas had scuttled previous efforts to cultivate co-operation.

‘‘They want to remain the ones who are actually in power,’’ he said.

Both Israel and Hamas remain exceptionally wary about whether the other side is ready to make concessions.