Hamas claims Palestinian factions have agreed to hand Gaza to technocrat committee

Hamas issues what it says is a joint statement from a group of “Palestinian factions,” announcing that they have agreed to have an independent committee of technocrats administer postwar Gaza.

The statement doesn’t appear to be a major development, given that Hamas has long stated that it was prepared to give up governing control of the Strip, while leaving the question of its weapons to separate discussions.

The statement also doesn’t mention whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party was included amid reports that Abbas ordered his aides to stay away from the sit-down over its inclusion of Hamas.

The Hamas statement also makes no mention of who will be sitting on the Palestinian technocratic committee, which will likely need approval from the US anyway. US officials indicated last week that filling the panel wasn’t at the top of their priorities.