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Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22683/hamas-trick-keeping-weapons
Hamas's Latest Trick: Leaving Government, Keeping Weapons
(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Hamas has announced that it is dissolving its de facto governing body and is prepared to hand authority to a committee of Palestinian technocrats. The announcement is merely Hamas's latest attempt to deceive the international community into believing that it is complying with the requirements of the Trump peace initiative, while preserving its military power. The key question is not who sits in ministerial offices in Gaza, but rather who holds the guns. Hamas admits that its ministries and thousands of employees will remain in place. Moreover, Hamas says it will continue overseeing security and policing in the areas still under its control. In other words, nothing essential has changed. As long as Hamas retains its military forces, every future civilian administration in Gaza will operate under the shadow of Hamas's guns. No technocratic government will be able to function independently. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar wrote, "Hamas's apparent willingness to make room for a technocratic government is designed to prevent its own disarmament." He warned that Hamas seeks to replicate the Hizbullah model in Gaza. This is simply outsourcing civilian responsibilities while preserving the machinery of jihad (holy war). Both Israelis and Palestinians have already paid an unbearable price for repeatedly believing Hamas's promises. They cannot afford to make the same mistake again.