Disarming Hamas Is Easier Said Than Done

RealClearWorld  |  Ahmad Sharawi, Natalie Ecanow

The White House announced a breakthrough 15-step roadmap on July 30, 2026, under which Hamas agreed on paper to surrender its weapons, allowing Israeli troops to withdraw and transferring power to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). However, implementation faces immediate friction as senior leaders dispute the scope of disarmament.

This divergence highlights the deep operational divide between technical administrative handovers and actual physical control of small arms and municipal infrastructure across Gaza. While the plan tasks the 13-member NCAG with internal security, it explicitly bars the International Stabilization Force from conducting domestic police operations. Consequently, an unformed Palestinian police force is left to enforce compliance against entrenched armed groups. Despite announcing the dissolution of its governing bodies on July 6, Hamas maintains its administrative grip through embedded ministry personnel, municipal operations, and security enforcement, including documented disruptions at World Food Program facilities. The elevation of hard-liner Khalil al-Hayya further signals persistent resistance to full demilitarization.

Comment

The explicit operational exclusion of the International Stabilization Force from domestic policing shifts the enforcement burden entirely onto the newly conceptualized National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. Without an established security apparatus capable of monopolising violence, the NCAG remains subordinate to pre-existing municipal and ministry networks. Parallel command structures in previous Palestinian administrative transitions demonstrate that partial disarmament frameworks systematically preserve shadow governance mechanisms. Consequently, the operational division between Shaath's executive committee and embedded ministry personnel leaves internal authority functioning through non-disbanded local cadres.

Strategic Question for Discussion

If the International Stabilization Force remains restricted from internal policing, which mechanisms can the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza leverage to dismantle entrenched civil-military bureaucracies without triggering immediate civil breakdown?

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