Hamas internally divided over ceasefire deal

There is a growing split across the Palestinian militant group Hamas between the leaders in the Gaza Strip, who have led armed battles in the war against Israel, and the political division in Qatar. Ismail Haniyeh, the current chairman of Hamas’s political bureau, not only launched negotiations with Israel over a truce but also talked to the Palestinian Authority (PA), a competitive political faction, about the governance of the Gaza Strip after the war ends. His recent moves have been met with a backlash from Yahya Sinwar, the leader in the Gaza Strip who masterminded a sudden attack on Israel.

The leaders of the Hamas political bureau, including Ismail Haniyeh and Husam Badran, had a talk with the leaders of PA, a competitive faction considered less hostile to Israel, to envision a governance plan after the end of the war, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Wednesday.

“We are not partisans of a zero-sum game. We want to end the war,” Badran told the WSJ, showing a completely different viewpoint than Hamas’ strong determination to fight to the death for victory. The same day, Haniyeh visited Egypt, which borders the southern part of the Gaza Strip, to discuss a ceasefire. Currently governing the West Bank, the area to the west of the Jordan River, the PA also used to rule the Gaza Strip.

The widespread corruption across the group lost the support of the people and handed over the control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas. Up until recently, the two organizations clashed with each other over which stance they would take in the war against Israel. It is presumed that Hamas sought help from Fatah, the ruling faction within the PA, after experiencing a weakening influence on the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s attacks.


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