Trump-Nestanyahu talks should answer Gaza’s question without Hamas

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should meet in the White House on Monday. One of the most difficult questions of the table is what Gaza could look like Hamas.

Experts tell Fox News Digital that, although the need for an alternative is clear, almost all the solutions proposed are delivered with serious structural, political and security limitations.

John Hannah, principal member of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) and veteran of republican and democratic administrations, said that the construction of an alternative to Hamas must occur in parallel with dismantling.

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The Hamas terrorists emerge from the shadows while surrounding the vehicles of the Red Cross. (Tps il)

“Part of the way you win is to show that there is a viable alternative,” said Hannah. “People need to see that there is a future beyond Hamas”

This future, according to experts, lies in a non -Hamas technocratic government – made up of Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas or PLO – supported by a coalition of key Arab states, notably Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

“While a new administration in Gaza should be independent, a symbolic link with the Palestinian authority could improve its legitimacy with the Arabs. Perhaps Ramallah could serve as a passage for the payment of wages. But the AP will not call the shots,” said Hannah.

“The default at the moment, if Israel ends up leaving Gaza, is Hamas,” said Ghaith Al-Mari, principal researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “There is no one on the ground who can challenge them. And there is no Arab involvement without the defeat of Hamas. Not just a cease-fire-real disarmament.”

The Palestinians carry bags and boxes containing food and humanitarian aid delivered by the Gaza Humaninian Foundation, an organization supported by the United States, in Rafah, Southern Gaza Strip, on June 16, 2025. (AP photo / Abdel Kareem Hana)

At best, al-Mari said who was the former executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine, the AP could propose a “kosher stamp” to satisfy the Arab states, which clearly indicated that they will only intervene in Gaza under a Palestinian national umbrella.

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“Without this symbolic invitation PA, Egypt and others will not come,” said Al-Mari. “But they still need a political framework – a certain commitment to a solution to two states. Without that, they have absolutely no incentive to play a role in Gaza.”

The securing of Israeli approval of any new administration of Gaza is another major obstacle. An Israeli security official told Fox News Digital that any agreement had to include guarantees that Israel retains anti -terrorism access to prevent Hamas from reappearing.

“Something like what exists in the West Bank – the buffer zones, the security of the perimeter and the right of the IDF or the Shin Pari to act on intelligence if necessary,” said Hannah.

FDI forces operate in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. (TDI spokesperson’s office)

This framework, he noted, would require intensive diplomacy led by the Americans with a sustained presence and coordination.

“I do not see anyone other than the United States to do so-there are too many interior rivalries in Arabic,” said Hannah, “no other actor has the relations, resources or confidence necessary to fill the deep divisions between Israel, Arab states and international players. Everyone will want the United States at the center of this. And there is no doubt that President Trump wants to resolve it.”

“Qatar is the elephant in the room,” said Hannah, “they bring a lot of much necessary money, but they have had a deeply problematic relationship with Hamas. If they want a seat at the table, it must be with strict conditions – the money flowing through channels of trust and controlled outside. But they cannot be a key actor in this effort.”

The United Nations, on the other hand, are largely out. “UNRWA days are over,” said Hannah. “They can no longer lead to education or economy in Gaza. At most, the UN could approve an American-Israeli-Israeli plan with a resolution of the Security Council-but they will not play an operational role.”

A sequence published by the Israeli defense forces has shown that Hamas fighters derive weapons from the entrance to the UNRWA complex. (IDF)

American veterans attacked, injured while distributing assistance to Gaza with a group supported by the United States

A silent winning proposal in Israeli and American circles is the idea of ​​allowing local clans to establish autonomous enclaves.

Joseph Braude, president of the Center for Peace Communications, spoke a lot with militants on the ground and thinks that this model could mark the start of an alternative.

“It may not be realistic to talk about a civil administration that has managed all Gaza at the moment,” said Braude, “but in discreet geographic enclaves in the band, you can control the non-Hammas automatic. Local gasans patrol internally while the FDI or another force ensures the perimeter.”

“There is a fiber of educated and civic individuals in Gaza – from engineers to teachers – who are not Islamists,” he added, “if they are properly approved, they can manage administration, education and basic services. But you must start by identifying who they are and what they really believe.”

Braude underlined one of these cases: Yasser Abu Shabab, a local militia leader. “This is the first anti-hamas militia to emerge in Gaza in a generation. He is a local fighter of a Bedouin clan with family ties with the Egyptian forces which fight against the Islamic State in Sinai. He says that he wants to invite civil servants to start the staffing of an administration.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin meets President Donald Trump in the White House Oval Office on April 7, 2025. (Images Kevin Dietsch / Getty)

But not everyone agrees that it is possible. “These groups are fragmented, moved and do not have legitimacy or cohesion to govern,” said Al-Mari. “You can use these militias to provide help deliveries in a specific field, but they cannot form the basis of governance.”

Dr. Michael Milstein, chief of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the University of Tel Aviv, told Fox News Digital: “Since the start of the war, several attempts to promote clans as alternative to Hamas have also failed, as the Doghmush clan, whose leaders were executed by Hamas at the start of 2024.”

“Even now, figures like Abu Shabab in Rafah or in the Barbakh family in Khan Younis are cases of fringe,” added Milstein. “Hamas always controls most of the public space. The clans can offer localized solutions, but they are not a coherent or legitimate alternative. Many are openly faithful to Hamas.”

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“Many say, until the Palestinians teach their children to love each other more than they hate Israel, there will never be peace,” said Braude, “it’s true. But who really works to promote a Palestinian direction (that) the fact? This is the challenge – and the opportunity – at the moment.”