Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Just two days after Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) showed that the resignation of Hamas’ ministers in the Gaza Strip is political theater designed to preserve its power and its weapons, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’ own advisor confirmed that conclusion.

Commenting on Hamas’ announcement that it would dissolve its Gaza government, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Mahmoud Abbas’ Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations, dismissed the move outright:

Posted text: “Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash responds via Al-Arabiya to Hamas’ declaration of dissolving its government in Gaza: The solution is the return of national legitimacy”

Al-Arabiya TV host: “Do you think what Hamas did today [i.e., dissolving its government in Gaza] is a sufficient or lacking decision?”

Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “In reality, all this nonsense has no value.”

Host: “Nonsense?

Al-Habbash: “Yes, it’s a Hamas committee handing over [the reins] to a Hamas committee. Is this a joke? Is this an attempt to mock people’s feelings? … It’s an attempt at deception and a maneuver.”

Host: “Why?”

Al-Habbash: “To buy time.”

[Mahmoud Al-Habbash, YouTube channel, July 7, 2026]

PMW’s Analysis, Confirmed From Within

Al-Habbash is a sworn enemy of Israel and obviously has no interest in interfering with a genuine transfer of power to the PA in Gaza, which is why his blunt statement validates precisely PMW’s earlier assessment that Hamas is swapping ministers for figureheads while its “technical and professional staff,” meaning Hamas’ operatives, keep running Gaza’s administration.

Even Abbas’ inner circle sees through the charade to the same endgame: buying time to rebuild weapons and tunnels while the world foots Gaza’s reconstruction bill.

Another affirmation of PMW’s conclusions was voiced by Dr. Habes Sharouf, Director of the Palestine Institute for National Security Studies, and seconded by the host on Fatah-run TV:

Dr. Habes Sharouf, Director of the Palestine Institute for National Security Studies: “Yesterday they [Hamas] announced a solution, meaning: Some of the Hamas leadership said: “We are leaving the government, but we are not transferring power.” …

Awdah TV host: “Hamas is pretending to the citizens in the Gaza Strip: On the surface, it says it will hand over government, [but] underneath, it carries out its plans and projects.” [emphasis added]

[Fatah-run Awdah TV, Facebook page, and Fatah-run Radio Mawtini, Facebook page, July 7, 2026]

Similarly, the PA remarked in an editorial in its official newspaper that “there is not much in this resignation; the necessary change on the part of the Hamas movement is still largely lacking” [official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 9, 2026].

Yet it is Al-Habbash’s remark that “the solution is the return of national legitimacy” that makes clear the PA’s own agenda — to eventually return to rule Gaza after the Board of Peace removes Hamas from power and hands the PA Hamas’ weapons.

That is the PA’s meaning of “return of national legitimacy.”

The author is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.