President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet at the White House on Monday. One of the most difficult questions on the table is what Gaza might look like without Hamas. 

Experts tell Fox News Digital that while the need for an alternative is clear, almost every proposed solution comes with serious structural, political and security limitations.

John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) and veteran of both Republican and Democratic administrations, said building an alternative to Hamas must happen in parallel with dismantling it. 

One proposal gaining quiet traction in Israeli and American circles is the idea of empowering local clans to establish self-governing enclaves. 

Joseph Braude, president of the Center for Peace Communications, has spoken extensively with activists on the ground and believes this model could mark the beginning of an alternative. 

“It may not be realistic to talk about one civil administration managing all of Gaza right now,” Braude said, “But in discrete geographical enclaves within the strip, you can pilot non-Hamas self-rule. Local Gazans patrol internally while the IDF or another force secures the perimeter. “

“There’s a fiber of educated, civically minded individuals in Gaza – from engineers to teachers – who are not Islamists,” he added, “If vetted properly, they can manage administration, education and basic services. But you have to start by identifying who they are and what they actually believe.” 

Braude pointed to one such case: Yasser Abu Shabab, a local militia leader. “This is the first anti-Hamas militia to emerge in Gaza in a generation. He’s a local fighter from a Bedouin clan with family ties to Egyptian forces battling ISIS in Sinai. He says he wants to invite civil servants to begin staffing an administration.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

But not everyone agrees this is feasible. “These groups are fragmented, displaced and lack the legitimacy or cohesion to govern,” said al-Omari. “You might use these militias to secure aid deliveries in a specific area, but they can’t form the basis of governance.”

Dr. Michael Milstein, head of the Forum for Palestinian Studies at Tel Aviv University, told Fox News Digital, “Since the war began, several attempts to promote clans as an alternative to Hamas have also failed, like the Doghmush clan, whose leaders were executed by Hamas in early 2024.”

“Even now, figures like Abu Shabab in Rafah or the Barbakh family in Khan Younis are fringe cases,” Milstein added. “Hamas still controls most of the public space. Clans may offer localized solutions, but they are no cohesive or legitimate alternative. Many are openly loyal to Hamas.”

“Many say, until Palestinians teach their children to love themselves more than they hate Israel, there will never be peace,” Braude said, “That’s true. But who is actually working to foster a Palestinian leadership [that] does so? That’s the challenge – and the opportunity – right now.”