ANKARA — Hamas is ready to hand over control of Gaza, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday, a position the group’s political leaders conveyed to Turkey during talks in Istanbul over the weekend.
“Hamas is ready to hand over authority to a committee that will consist of Palestinians and represent Gaza’s will,” Fidan told journalists in Istanbul.
The militant group “conveyed its position to the Turkish side,” a source familiar with the talks between Ankara and Hamas clarified to Al-Monitor.
Fidan’s remarks followed a meeting he held with Hamas political leaders in Istanbul on Saturday, including senior leader Khalil al-Hayya, a top negotiator for the militant group, as well as Zaher Jabarin, another senior official. Turkey, along with Egypt and Qatar, signed the ceasefire deal during Trump’s visit to Egypt on Oct. 13, which paused the war between Israel and Hamas just as it entered its third year.
In its formal response to Trump’s 20-point peace plan issued Oct. 3, Hamas agreed “to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents.” But it has yet to publicly announce its readiness to cede control of the enclave.
The technocratic body will comprise independent Palestinian figures from Gaza and oversee governance and reconstruction. Cairo has solicited roughly 40 names from Hamas and its rival Fatah, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, for potential inclusion, The Washington Post reported Monday. Hamas will not have a direct representation in the technocratic government, but Israeli officials believe the group has been seeking to maintain its influence within the body through some appointments, Israeli state broadcaster Kan reported last month.
The group has so far sent mixed messages on the issue, with a senior Hamas political official saying last month that control of the Palestinian enclave would remain in its own hands.
Hamas intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim period, senior Hamas official Mohammed Nazzal was quoted as telling Reuters on Oct. 19.
Fidan’s comments come after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire hit several snags. Israel has accused the militant group of violating the truce by failing to return all hostage remains, as required under Trump’s plan. The accusations followed a deadly flare-up last week, when Israel launched airstrikes that killed more than 100 people in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli troops in Rafah, leaving one soldier dead.
Amid growing concerns over the ceasefire’s fragility, Fidan earlier Monday met with his counterparts from six Arab and Muslim-majority countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Indonesia and Pakistan, to discuss the ceasefire process. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty was unable to attend the Istanbul meeting on Monday due to a scheduling conflict, Fidan said.
“The countries that took part in today’s meeting share a common view,” Fidan said. “We fully support the continuation of the ceasefire.”
He added that he and his counterparts discussed issues related to Gaza’s governance and security arrangements, including the potential mandate and composition of a proposed international stabilization force to be deployed in the Palestinian enclave under Trump’s ceasefire plan.
Talks on the proposed ISF are in their early stages. While Jordan and Egypt were initially viewed as likely contributors, Arab capitals have voiced reservations about entering Gaza without broader legal cover that would guard against potential clashes with Israeli forces or Palestinian militants. Several countries have been pushing for a United Nations Security Council mandate to provide political legitimacy and protection for participating troops.
Fidan signaled that Turkey was open to deploying troops to Gaza, but it conditioned any potential deployment on the emerging framework, referring to ongoing efforts to draft a UNSC mandate for an ISF in Gaza under Trump’s plan. However, Israel remains opposed to any potential Turkish troop deployment in Gaza, viewing Ankara as biased due to its support for Hamas.
Under Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, an ISF would be deployed to the Palestinian enclave to oversee Israel’s phased withdrawal, support border security and help train Palestinian security forces.
“We are ready to make any sacrifice,” Fidan said. “But it’s important that the documents and framework to be produced are of a nature we can support.”