Turkey says Hamas willing to hand Gaza administration to Palestinians - thoughts
Assalamu alaykum. Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, has said Hamas is prepared to transfer day-to-day control of Gaza to a Palestinian committee, according to statements after a meeting of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers working to strengthen the fragile ceasefire.
Fidan noted that Turkey and Qatar - who have been in contact with Hamas - helped persuade the group to accept parts of the ceasefire plan. One controversial element of that 20-point plan is a clause saying Hamas and other Palestinian factions would not play a future governing role in Gaza and would lay down arms; Hamas has been cautious about committing to disarmament.
Fidan said Hamas is ready to hand over governance to a Palestinian committee and added that if the agreement safeguards Palestinian rights, it can withstand provocations. He and other officials stressed the principle that Palestinians should administer and secure their own territory, though details on how that will work are still to be agreed.
Discussions in Istanbul included senior officials from the UAE, Indonesia, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan about moving the ceasefire implementation forward. Turkey said it coordinated with Egypt ahead of the talks even though Egypt did not attend that particular meeting.
An idea under consideration is an international stabilisation force to support Gaza’s future security. Participating countries want the UN Security Council to define the force’s mandate, and nations will decide on contributing troops once the mandate is clear. Fidan warned that any resolution should not create problems later and emphasised caution in framing such steps.
Fidan also criticised Israel for what he described as repeated breaches of the ceasefire, saying Palestinian lives continue to be lost and that aid deliveries are insufficient. Under the ceasefire terms, 600 aid trucks and 50 fuel trucks per day were supposed to enter Gaza; Fidan said those levels are not being met. International aid groups have raised alarms about rejected aid requests and the humanitarian strain inside the strip.
Details remain fluid: the exact form of Gaza’s future administration, the security arrangements, and the composition and mandate of any international force are all still being negotiated. The core messages from the meeting were support for Palestinian administration of Palestinian land, protection of civilians, and the need for steady humanitarian access.
May Allah protect the oppressed and guide leaders to just solutions. Salam.
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