GAZA: Israel has killed nearly a dozen Gaza police officers this week as it steps up attacks on a Hamas-run force that the militants have used to re-establish governance in areas under their control, Gaza authorities say.
Hamas’ nearly 10,000 police officers have emerged as a sticking point in talks to advance the US plan for Gaza. Hamas wants them included in a new police force envisioned under the plan. Israel rejects the involvement of any officers with Hamas affiliations.
The US plan calls for the group to lay down its weapons and hand over governance to a committee of Palestinian technocrats who would manage Gaza’s police as Israeli troops withdraw.
Talks on disarming Hamas have been delayed by the US-Israeli war with Iran, Reuters has reported.
On the ground in Gaza, mostly unarmed officers dressed in navy police uniforms patrol the streets in the seafront sliver of Gaza where Hamas retained control under an October ceasefire following two years of war.
