The overarching question hanging over the hustle and bustle of setting up the Gaza Board of Peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is this: Will Hamas actually cede its authority to NCAG? Signs are pointing to a resounding no. Hamas has replaced officials in senior government positions, succeeding in getting 14 of its 17 government ministries up and running again, compared with five at the height of the war. Video shows a new health minister touring hospitals. Over half of Gaza’s towns and cities are functioning again.

Hamas claims that these are temporary measures while they wait for a transition to take place, but Israeli officials believe they have no intention of giving up their authority.

“The organizational measures taken during the past period were necessary to prevent the collapse of the service system and do not conflict with any future arrangements agreed upon,” said Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-controlled government’s media office, in a statement.

The terror organization is collecting taxes, even on smuggled goods, bringing in millions of shekels on cigarettes alone since the ceasefire began last October, enabling it to pay salaries to its members. It has reestablished its police force, bringing down crime and restoring order, further tightening its grip on the population. Hamas has proposed incorporating 10,000 Hamas police officers into the new Gaza police force.

In a document the IDF presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January, it said, “Hamas is advancing steps on the ground meant to preserve its influence and grip in the Gaza Strip ‘from the bottom up’ by means of integrating its supporters in government offices, security apparatuses and local authorities.”

The Israeli government has dismissed the idea that Hamas will play any role in a new government in Gaza, with an Israeli official saying, “Hamas is finished as a governing authority in the Gaza Strip.”

Hamas claims that it’s ready to transfer control to NCAG, which is headed by Gaza-born technocrat Ali Shaath, but says Israel refuses to allow any members of the committee to step foot in Gaza. Without responding to this claim, the IDF said that the ceasefire has given Hamas the opportunity to regroup, rearm and reassert control in the smaller half of the Strip that it controls.

Hamas has placed senior officials from its organization into governor roles in five districts as well as various other positions, prompting an official to note that “Shaath may have the key to the car, and he may even be allowed to drive, but it is a Hamas car.” The IDF agreed, saying in its document that “Looking ahead, without Hamas disarmament and under the auspices of the technocrat committee, Hamas will succeed, in our view, to preserve influence and control in the Gaza Strip.”

Even NCAG expressed concern about Hamas’ actions. The committee issued a statement asking for a speedy resolution of all these issues by international mediators, saying it would fail to function as a governing body “without the full administrative, civilian, and police powers necessary to implement its mandate effectively.”