Hamas says it instructed Gaza agencies to prepare to give up power as part of ceasefire plan

Hamas says it has instructed its government agencies to prepare to hand over their powers to the independent committee of Palestinian technocrats that is supposed to administer Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan.

The statement comes as Trump is expected to announce this week the makeup of the Board of Peace that is supposed to oversee the Palestinian committee.

“Based on US President Trump’s statement of his intention to form a Board of Peace for the Gaza Strip, the Hamas movement has issued directives to all government entities and agencies to prepare to hand over all authorities to this independent Palestinian technocratic committee,” says Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassem in a video statement.

“This decision is clear and final, and there are also instructions to facilitate the success of this Palestinian agency’s work, in line with the higher national interest and in keeping with the plan to end the war on the Gaza Strip,” says Kassem.

As opposed to the Board of Peace, the makeup of the Palestinian committee is reportedly still far from clear. A Palestinian Authority source tells the Qatari-owned, UK-based outlet al-Quds al-Arabi that Hamas and Fatah, the faction that dominates the PA, have yet to agree on the members of the committee other than its head, PA Health Minister Maged Abu Ramadan, a former mayor of Gaza City.

Fatah officials, including PA Vice President Muhammad al-Sheikh and intelligence chief Majed Faraj, met with mediators in Egypt last week to discuss the issue. Hamas officials are expected to hold talks on the matter with their Egyptian counterparts in Cairo this week.