Palestinian resistance group Hamas wants around 10,000 of its security personnel integrated into a future governing authority for Gaza, a Hamas official involved in the discussions said Tuesday.
The official said agreement on this had been reached with U.S. representatives and that all candidates would be subjected to a security check. There has been no independent confirmation of the claim.
Israel has rejected any involvement of Hamas in a future Gaza administration.
The Hamas official said that the organization's own police had the best understanding of conditions in the region. Their inclusion would also help prevent dismissed police officers from joining radical groups.
He pointed to the situation in Iraq following the toppling of Saddam Hussein. U.S. administrator Paul Bremer dissolved the Iraqi military and security services by decree in May 2003, effectively firing hundreds of thousands of trained and armed men.
