We have no ambition to govern Gaza: Hamas

GAZA: Hamas has clarified that it has no intention of governing Gaza, saying that negotiations with mediators were ongoing to secure a ceasefire and halt Israel’s renewed offensive on Gaza.

Speaking to Arab media Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif al-Qanou dismissed claims made by US Middle East envoy Steve Wietkoff, who recently accused the Palestinian group of insisting on governing Gaza.

Al-Qanou emphasized Hamas’ openness to arrangements for Gaza’s post-war governing and commitment to national consensus.

“We are not interested in being part of Gaza’s administration,” al-Qanou said. “That’s why we agreed to form a social support committee in Gaza that excludes Hamas. We have no ambition to govern Gaza – what matters to us is a national consensus, and we are committed to its outcomes.”

Al-Qanou emphasised that Hamas had shown sufficient flexibility in talks with mediators to reach an agreement.

He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of obstructing progress, prioritizing his political survival over the lives of Israeli captives held in Gaza.

Despite renewed fighting, he said, Hamas remains open to dialogue with US representatives to help end the violence.

Fatah urges Hamas to cede power to safeguard ‘Palestinians’ existence’

Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement called on its Islamist rivals Hamas on Saturday to relinquish power in order to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,” Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said in a message sent to AFP from Gaza.

He called on Hamas to “step aside from governing and fully recognise that the battle ahead will lead to the end of Palestinians’ existence” if it remains in power in Gaza.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, and subsequent attempts at reconciliation have failed.

The territory has been devastated by an Israeli offensive in retaliation for the assault by Hamas and other Palestinian militants on Israel on October 7, 2023.