Hamas and Palestinian leadership scramble to figure out who should rule Gaza after war ends

The terrorist organization Hamas is at odds with itself and the Palestinian Authority over how the Gaza Strip and West Bank should be governed after the war with Israel ends, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 civilians during a mass attack against Israel on October 7, prompting Israel to launch a major counteroffensive in Gaza. The political and military leadership of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are at odds over how Gaza and the West Bank should be governed after the war, which the Hamas leadership hopes will be soon. seconds in the WSJ.

“We don't fight just because we want to fight. We are not in favor of a zero-sum game,” Husam Badran, a member of Hamas' political wing in Qatar, told the Wall Street Journal. “We want the war to end… We want to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem”.

Palestinian Authority Official Mahmoud Habbash: “Hamas uses women and children as human shields to sacrifice them for propaganda”
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— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) December 14, 2023

Bickering between Hamas' political and military leadership has escalated since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, according to the WSJ. The political wing of Hamas based in the capital of Qatar, Dohahas been in political talks with Fatah, the ruling faction of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, but Hamas's military leadership was not informed or included in the discussions and insisted they stop immediately.

Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar does not believe Hamas should continue to rule over Gaza, but he also believes the terror group has not yet lost the war against Israel and says it is too early to negotiate, according to the WSJ.

Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which represents the Palestinians at the United Nations, have a historically troubled relationship, but Hamas leadership now says they should join the political body already which they believe would give them representation with the international community, according to the WSJ. Hamas would join the PLO in hopes of re-establishing an independent Palestinian state.

“It will be a national dialogue,” Badran said. “We have always said that the PLO should contain any Palestinian faction.”

In addition, Hamas has continued to maintain secret contacts with the Fatah leadership in recent days; however, any potential deal between Hamas and Fatah could face rejection from Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, with whom neither group has held discussions, according to the WSJ. The Palestinian Authority may be hesitant to form a deal with Hamas because Israel has declared it will decimate the latter group.

The US and Israel have had their own discussions about what the government of Gaza should look like once Israel eradicate Hamas in the region, according to the WSJ. The US is pressuring Israel to allow a renewed Palestinian Authority to rule in Gaza, but Israel has done so rejected this notion, declaring that while they would not reoccupy, they would maintain security control of the region.

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