What comes next as Hamas hands over Gaza administration to UN-backed panel?

Hamasannounced on July 6 that it was dissolving its government in Gaza and formally handing over administration to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) under the US-backed ceasefire framework.

The UN haswelcomed the move, saying it would support the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, protect civilians, and ensure unhindered provision of humanitarian aid.

Even after bombing Gaza into rubble and pushing most residents into makeshift housing without access to livelihoods, Israel has continued to conductair strikes in violation of the ceasefire agreement, maiming and killing civilians in the coastal enclave.

Analysts say the formal announcement by Hamas to step aside in favour of NCAG – a technical committee consisting of Palestinian professionals and backed by the UN – changes little on the ground, mainly because of Israel’s efforts to thwart permanent peace in Gaza.

Israel’s military posture, territorial control and blockade remain firmly in place, leaving the NCAG incapable of governance, they say.

Mehmet Rakipoglu, a Middle East expert and associate professor at Mardin Artuklu University in Ankara, tells NOP NIGERIA that the NCAG is a body of Palestinian national figures rather than armed resistancerepresentatives.

Yet, Israel is bent on creating insurmountable barriers towards achieving peace in Gaza, he says.

“Israel’s presence in Gaza directly poses an obstacle that cannot be solved easily,” he says, highlighting that there is no concrete confrontation against the Israeli army in Gaza or elsewhere in the world.

“The military posture and blockade (by Israel) are preventing Gaza’s citizens from governing Gaza,” Rakipoglu says.

Gokhan Batu, Levant studies analyst at the Ankara-based Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, also says that Israel is actively undermining the committee even before it can begin operations.

Israel’s blockade and continued control over roughly 60 percent of Gaza do more than weaken the National Committee’s authority, he says.

“They also make it more difficult for Hamas to comply with the agreement and raise serious questions about the legitimacy of the process among Palestinians in Gaza,” he tells NOP NIGERIA.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which became effective in October last year, brought an exchange of prisoners along with a partial Israeli withdrawal from the besieged territory.

Thesecond phase, beginning in January, is intended to establish transitional Palestinian governance and reconstruction under the US-ledBoard of Peace.

‘Fragmented system’ of governance likely

The NCAG came into being under a UN Security Council resolution in January as part of the 20-point peace plan to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

But Israel hasyet to allow the body, led by Acting Commissioner Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath, to even enter Gaza.

As a result, the NCAG has been operating from Cairo.

“A committee that cannot move freely, exercise authority across the territory, or control access to essential goods and reconstruction materials will struggle to establish itself as a credible governing body,” Batu says.