GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas has reasserted control over large parts of Gaza from which the Israeli military withdrew under the US-sponsored ceasefire, exercising power through police and working to restart public administration.
The inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” on Thursday included an announcement on the recruitment of a new transitional Palestinian police force in Gaza meant to take over security from Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
It also saw several countries pledge to send troops for the nascent International Stabilization Force in the Gaza Strip, without any timetable set.
Hamas still refuses to lay down its arms under the conditions set by Israel, but it has pledged to hand over power, insisting it no longer wants to administer the territory it seized by force nearly 20 years ago.
“Everyone knows that Hamas possesses the real power in Gaza,” said Jaber Shaaban, a displaced Palestinian living in a tent in Gaza City.
