The idea of a trustworthy police force in Gaza is nearly impossible

Meir Ben-Shabbat: There is no way to ensure that problematic people, from an Israeli perspective, will not serve in the Gazan Police.

There are very high support rates for Hamas in Gaza, as well as relatively high support for the Oct. 7 attack. More than half of the population was born into Hamas rule, educated in Hamas institutions, prayed in Hamas mosques and consumed Hamas media.

The full interview was published in JNS, on February 24, 2026.