Aaron Goren | Jan 27, 2026
The U.S.-crafted plan for Gaza may yet produce the opposite of its intended effect, by allowing Hamas to retain large parts of its arsenal under a different guise.
Reuters reported on January 27 that Hamas was seeking to integrate tens of thousands of its operatives into the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the technocratic government tasked with managing the post-war phase in the coastal enclave. The terrorist organization wants 40,000 of its civil servants in Gaza, including its 10,000-member-strong police force, to be included in the authority responsible for post-war Gaza.
New details about U.S. goals for Gaza leave open the possibility for armed terrorists to integrate into the NCAG. This would spell catastrophe for the future of the ceasefire and the American plan it supports.
Hamas Indicates Desire To Work With Transitional Government in Gaza
After the IDF recovered the body of Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem issued a statement claiming that, “Hamas will continue to adhere to all aspects of the [ceasefire] agreement, including facilitating the work of the NCAG and ensuring its success.”
This represents a dangerous bid for the group’s survival under a new label. Israeli reports had already suggested that the group was aiming to broker a deal with the Gaza Executive Board (GEB) — the subcommittee of Trump’s new Board of Peace tasked with overseeing the NCAG — under which the terrorist organization would disarm and provide maps of Gaza’s tunnel system in exchange for a role in the NCAG.
Any integration of Hamas into New Gaza’s government would represent a grave threat to Israel, which has consistently vowed to prevent Hamas from holding any power in post-war Gaza. It would also impede efforts to create an alternative Palestinian leadership in the territory, given that Hamas’s internal “Arrow Unit,” which has carried out beatings, executions, and other violent forms of repression against Palestinian civilians who opposed its rule during the war, is a component of the police force seeking integration with the NCAG.
U.S. Disarmament Plan for Gaza Could Allow for Integration of Terrorist Groups Into the NCAG
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner outlined the Trump administration’s plans for Gaza on January 22. Though the plan encouragingly defines comprehensive disarmament as the surrender of “heavy weapons,” and the destruction of “tunnels, military infrastructure, weapons production facilities, and munitions,” there remains a pitfall in the framework.
The plan states that “personal arms” are to be “registered and decommissioned” by the NCAG’s future police force. Another section states that “all weapons” are to be “authorized by one authority only (NCAG).” A separate clause states that “all militants and armed groups, internal security, and police organizations” are to be “dismantled or integrated into NCAG following rigorous vetting.”
The suggestion that “militants or armed groups” could be integrated into NCAG seems to open the door to the integration of Hamas fighters. The pledge of “rigorous vetting” is ambiguous. The only acceptable approach to vetting is a ban on all fighters from Hamas and aligned groups.
Hamas Must Not Be Permitted To Integrate Into the NCAG; Focus Must Be on Strict Adherence to Disarmament
The stated goal of the NCAG is to remain politically neutral while excluding armed groups from power. Any integration of Hamas into the NCAG virtually ensures this would be a failed endeavor.
The Gaza Executive Board must not allow Hamas members to integrate into the Palestinian technocratic government. Likewise, the NCAG, with U.S. support, must thoroughly vet all candidates for civil positions to ensure that they were not previously involved with any terrorist organizations, including Hamas and its allies like Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the extreme left-wing factions of the PLO.
Finally, instead of relying on Hamas’s cooperation, the GEB should pursue an unconditional surrender of all of Hamas’s weapons, executed within a strictly enforced timeframe. If Hamas does not commit to this process, the U.S. should support, if Israel chooses, renewed IDF operations to defeat the group.
Aaron Goren is a research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Aaron and FDD, please subscribe?HERE. Follow Aaron on X @RealAaronGoren. Follow FDD on X?@FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
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