Hamas: Toward Palestinian Reconciliation, or Abdication of Governmental Responsibility?

Image courtesy of Surian Soosay/Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)

This article was originally published by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) on 24 September 2017.

Despite the announcement by the Hamas leadership that it was willing to disband the administrative committee for the Gaza Strip, which was founded six months ago as an act of defiance against PA President Mahmoud Abbas, the road to Palestinian reconciliation is still long. Moreover, it is quite likely that Hamas has maneuvered skillfully, and has successfully caught Abbas and the PA in a honey trap, since if the PA-led Palestinian government returns to Gaza, it will assume the heavy responsibility for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip and the welfare of the population.