Exclusive: Fatah’s Gaza Spokesman Al-Hayek Tells The Media Line Hamas Must Relinquish Power
Al-Hayek stresses that the Palestinian Authority should govern Gaza after the war and urges international backing for reconstruction
[Gaza City] Munther Al-Hayek, spokesperson for the Palestinian Fatah Movement in the Gaza Strip, spoke with The Media Line about Fatah’s vision for postwar Gaza. He described a future government under Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, the removal of Hamas from power, coordination with Arab states, and the role of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Discussing governance after the war, Al-Hayek said Gaza should be administered by a government headed by Mustafa and stressed that Hamas should be pressured to step down.
He explained that Fatah is engaged in “intensive and ongoing communications” with Egypt and other Arab countries about postwar arrangements. Al-Hayek pointed out that an Arab-Islamic plan—endorsed by both the Arab Summit and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah—calls for the PA to “impose its legal jurisdiction over the Gaza Strip.”
The day following the war must be distinctly Palestinian
“The day following the war must be distinctly Palestinian,” he told The Media Line, noting that Israel has rejected proposals giving the PA control. He added that the PA is “the official and legitimate face of the State of Palestine.”
According to Al-Hayek, Fatah believes the Mustafa government should take full legal authority in Gaza, backed by “all political parties, including Fatah and the Palestinian factions,” so it can “fulfill its administrative and governance responsibilities in Gaza, particularly the day after the war.” He said that afterward, the process should move toward “legislative, presidential, and National Council elections, allowing the Palestinian people to choose their future leadership.”
Ending the war, he continued, was the immediate priority. “Right now, all we are thinking about is ending the war in the Gaza Strip,” he said, “and then moving towards a political process that leads to the establishment of the Palestinian state and its embodiment on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Al-Hayek made clear that Hamas should relinquish its governing role. “We have requested Hamas to exit the governmental and administrative scene,” he told The Media Line. “We have not asked Hamas members and their families to leave the Gaza Strip, as they remain an integral part of the Palestinian people. However, Hamas is now required to step back from this governing role.”
He said Hamas “currently finds itself in a difficult situation” and that “all Palestinian factions desire nothing but to reach a clear and well-defined agreement” allowing the PA to take over governance in Gaza, as it already does in the West Bank.
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One reason Hamas must step aside, he argued, is that “the situation after October 7 is entirely different from what it was before October 7.” The war, he said, has created “complex security circumstances,” including the occupation of large parts of Gaza, demographic and geographic shifts, and “the presence of occupying forces in the Strip.”
Hamas must step aside and allow the Palestinian National Authority to assume responsibility
“To alleviate all the suffering and harsh pain endured by our people,” he said, “Hamas must step aside and allow the Palestinian National Authority to assume responsibility.”
Responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remark that “neither Fatahstan, nor Hamastan, nor the Palestinian Authority will exist in the Gaza Strip,” Al-Hayek cited international support for a PA role. He noted that when the European Union called for the PA’s presence at the Rafah crossing, “it meant the Palestinian Authority, regardless of the form or nature of its presence.”
Turning to humanitarian concerns, Al-Hayek said Gaza will face an enormous task of rebuilding once the war ends. “The Gaza Strip needs reconstruction. It needs the world to mobilize for food and reconstruction,” he said. But he added, “this world will not mobilize, pay, or undertake reconstruction except through the legitimate body.”
That legitimate body, he emphasized, is “the Palestinian National Authority, which represents the Palestinians in the territories occupied in 1967.” He said there are ongoing contacts with “the entire international community, the United Nations, and the European Union,” and added, “There will certainly be contacts with the United States.”
Speaking about Washington’s role, Al-Hayek criticized the lack of American action so far. “Unfortunately, up to this moment, the United States and the administration of President Trump—who personally spoke about extinguishing fires across the entire Middle East—have not yet acted regarding Gaza,” he said. “We have not found any initiative from the United States to stop the war in Gaza.”
He urged the US to recognize “there was already a proposed solution on the table, which is the two-state solution.” Without it, he warned, “hatred will persist within this generation that experienced the war of October 7. This generation will fully realize that if the Palestinian issue is not resolved, there will be neither security nor peace in the Middle East region, especially in Palestine.”
“Therefore,” he said, “the United States is required to take a step forward—first to stop the war, then to assist the Palestinian people in obtaining their rights.” Those rights, he concluded, “can only be achieved through the realization of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital—this is for sure.”
The Fatah spokesperson also emphasized the importance of regional and global backing. “We have experienced a war in the Gaza Strip that targeted our people. The international community, our Arab brothers, our friends, and the European Union must stand by the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinian people do not want to leave Gaza. We repeat each time: We will remain in Gaza until Judgment Day.
Asked whether Gazans would be allowed to leave, Al-Hayek was unequivocal. “The Palestinian people do not want to leave Gaza,” he told The Media Line. “We repeat each time: We will remain in Gaza until Judgment Day. Here we were born, and here we shall die.”
He acknowledged that some residents might travel temporarily “for leisure, education, or medical treatment,” but rejected the idea of permanent departure. To abandon Gaza, he said, in the way envisioned by “Netanyahu’s extremist government, along with Smotrich and Ben-Gvir—that is an illusion. We emphasize clearly: this is an illusion. We will remain in Gaza until Judgment Day.”
“We are the rightful owners of this land; we will build it, develop it, live upon it, and be buried beneath its soil,” he said. “Some of us might leave temporarily due to difficult living conditions, for education or medical treatment. But to leave and abandon our homes, houses, history, and lives—that certainly is an illusion.” No Palestinian, he added, “would accept leaving their property, life, and memories behind simply because of a war.”
Only the National Security Forces, Al-Hayek said, should be deployed “to protect public properties and the properties of citizens.” Any administrative or support committees, he argued, must “be part of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian government. We do not say ‘coordinate’ with the Authority, as ‘coordination’ is a vague term.”
He called the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) “the representative of the Palestinian people” and said it will determine Gaza’s future. “Whoever wishes to govern the Strip must go to the ballot box, because it is the Palestinian people who choose their future leadership,” he said. The spokesperson pointed to a “clear plan proposed by Fatah” through Egypt that affirms “on the day after, legitimacy belongs exclusively to the official body representing the Palestinian people.”
He concluded by calling for a ceasefire “at least during this phase” that would include “the release of hostages from the Gaza Strip” and the release by Israel of prisoners who, he said, “fought for freedom and independence.”
“Regarding pressure,” he finished, “we have repeatedly demanded—and we demand once again for the thousandth time—that Hamas exit the governmental scene. Hamas must leave the Gaza Strip to the legitimate government, which represents Palestinian citizens in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”
