The April 23 reconciliation agreement signed by Palestinian leaders did not address the most contentious issue between them: the weapons of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. Both Fatah and Hamas thought it best to pass on the issue to avoid it posing an obstacle to reconciliation.

One factor complicating matters, Al-Monitor learned from the Ministry of Finance in the Gaza Strip, is that some 25,000 employees in the Hamas government work in the security services, and most of them belong to the Qassam Brigades. According to one Qassam military official, after the formation of the next government, these employees will take orders from the brigade's military leadership, not their current manager at the Ministry of Interior. 

On April 29, the Foreign Ministry of the Hamas government released a statement in which it noted, “One of the challenges facing the success of the reconciliation is that President Mahmoud Abbas had announced that a government means that [all weapons should be under a unified command] and that Hamas should lay down its arms.” The statement went on to say that asking Hamas to hand over its weapons is a taboo.

Thus, it appears, Hamas and Fatah agreeing to postpone discussion of the Qassam Brigades’ weapons did not preclude Hamas’ further examining this sensitive subject in recent days. Hamas fears that the brigade's weapons will be considered illegitimate after the next government is formed because Abbas continues to stress that any weapons beyond state control are illegitimate, no matter what they are called, in reference to the Qassam Brigades. This prompted Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar to assert on April 29 that reconciliation will not lead to the subordination of Qassam fighters to Abbas.