Mohammed Dahlan, the exiled former Fatah security chief and longtime rival of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, has emerged in recent weeks as an increasingly important intermediary between Hamas, Egypt, Gulf states and the Trump administration — fueling concern in Ramallah that he could help Hamas reinvent itself as a legitimate political force and challenge the existing Palestinian leadership.
Dahlan’s growing prominence is rooted not only in his close ties across the Arab world and the political and organizational network he retains in Gaza, but also in his expanding role in efforts to implement the next phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
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Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Mohammed Dahlan, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya
(Photo: Ramil Sitdikov / AFP, REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo, AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian Authority officials were surprised and disappointed by U.S. envoy Jared Kushner’s meeting Sunday in Egypt with senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, which Dahlan also attended.
Though formally still associated with the Palestine Liberation Organization, Dahlan has increasingly engaged with Hamas, potentially providing the group with political legitimacy and a path toward participating in planned Palestinian elections at a time when the Palestinian Authority is facing a severe financial and political crisis.
Dahlan has for years been closely associated with the United Arab Emirates, where he is based, and his involvement may also reflect the wider competition between the UAE and Qatar for influence over postwar Gaza.
The development poses a particular challenge for the established Palestinian leadership. Abbas is 91, while Marwan Barghouti, one of Fatah’s most prominent potential successors, remains imprisoned in Israel. PA officials see no obvious candidate capable of easily countering Dahlan should he return to the center of Palestinian politics.
Hamas openly acknowledges talks with Dahlan camp
Hamas has publicly confirmed a series of meetings with members of Dahlan’s Democratic Reform Current, including meetings attended by Dahlan himself.
Senior Hamas official Hussam Badran said Sunday that the discussions had addressed negotiations as well as Palestinian elections planned for late November. He also raised the possibility of forming a “broad national alliance” bringing together Hamas, Dahlan’s faction, other Palestinian groups and independent figures.
Mohammed Dahlan
(Photo: Majdi Mohammed/AP)
The political significance of those contacts extends well beyond temporary cooperation over the Gaza war.
If Hamas moves toward reintegration into the Palestinian political system, Dahlan could serve as one of its principal bridges to Arab and Western governments as well as to formal Palestinian institutions.
For Hamas, that could offer a route away from its status as a terrorist group governing Gaza separately from the PA and toward participation in a broader Palestinian political framework.
Badran confirmed that contacts with Dahlan’s Fatah breakaway faction were continuing and said “several meetings” had taken place recently, some attended by Dahlan.
Hamas officials are already discussing the possibility of contesting elections through a broader electoral framework. Instead of running independently against Fatah, Hamas could seek to participate in a joint list or political bloc that also includes Dahlan-aligned figures and independents.
For Dahlan, such an arrangement could provide a route back to the center of Palestinian politics without having to reconcile with the PA leadership in Ramallah. For Hamas, Dahlan could offer access to governments and officials with whom the group has difficulty maintaining direct relations.
Dahlan emerges at center of Gaza diplomacy
The rapprochement between Dahlan and Hamas is unfolding alongside intensified U.S. diplomacy over the next stage of arrangements for Gaza.
Hamas leaders met Kushner in Egypt on Sunday as part of efforts to advance the Trump administration’s roadmap. Hamas said it had agreed to the roadmap for the second phase, which includes an Israeli withdrawal, expanded humanitarian assistance, the launch of a national committee to administer Gaza and reconstruction of the territory.
Jared Kushner
(Photo: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Before the Kushner meeting, Dahlan said he had received a message from the U.S. envoy indicating that an agreement had been reached with Israel to halt attacks in Gaza.
Dahlan called on all Palestinian factions to honor their commitments and refrain from actions that could give Israel grounds to derail the agreement.
His ability to publicly relay messages concerning the negotiations while simultaneously maintaining contacts with Hamas and U.S. officials illustrates the unusual position he has carved out.
Dahlan is not negotiating on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Yet he increasingly occupies a space where U.S., Egyptian and Gulf officials intersect with Hamas — effectively giving him influence over negotiations from which the PA fears it could be marginalized.
PA fears ‘Hamastan in the form of Dahlan’
Palestinian Authority officials are closely and anxiously monitoring the developments.
A senior PA official told ynet that Ramallah’s concern extends beyond Dahlan personally to the possibility that a new Palestinian political model is emerging in which Dahlan and Hamas together form an alternative to the existing PLO and PA structure.
“The donor countries that are demanding reforms from us in every area, including parliamentary elections in November and presidential elections in March 2027, view the rapprochement between Hamas and Dahlan positively,” the official said.
“Dahlan is the person talking to Hamas and trying to become a significant player,” he added. “Things are developing especially now, when Hamas is calling on Gaza residents to update their information in the voter registry.”
The PA’s deepening internal crisis is intensifying those concerns.
“The Authority is collapsing economically, clearance revenues are not being received and there is a severe crisis within the PA,” the official said, referring to tax revenues Israel collects on the PA’s behalf.
“If Israel did not want a ‘Fatahstan,’ as Netanyahu said, the question is whether it will ultimately get a ‘Hamastan’ in the form of Dahlan.”
The concern reflects a broader change in how Ramallah views the former Fatah strongman. PA officials no longer see Dahlan merely as an internal rival of Abbas but as a potential Hamas proxy with access to Washington and key Arab capitals — and as a figure who could become part of a new regional-backed Palestinian political structure that bypasses the current leadership.