IntelBrief: Palestinian Politics Key to Post-Hamas Gaza

Bottom Line Up Front

• The schisms in Palestinian politics will affect Israeli and international efforts to stabilize the Gaza Strip if Israel succeeds in removing Hamas from power there.
• Most regional and international governments prefer that, as a long-term plan, the Palestine Liberation Organization-run Palestinian Authority consolidate Gaza into a unified Palestinian entity.
• Some officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its dominant faction, Fatah, have a following among Gaza residents, but the Palestinian Authority generally suffers from a lack of popularity and legitimacy among most Gazans.
• Hamas will likely try to frustrate any successor government in the Gaza Strip.