Hamas won't give up Gaza

The cease-fire negotiations currently being held in Cairo between the Israeli and Palestinian delegations will undoubtedly experience their ups and downs in the coming days, and possibly see several breakdowns that could result in rocket fire, but eventually, an agreement that will end Operation Protective Edge will be reached.

It is hard to predict the exact details of this future agreement, but one thing is certain -- Hamas will remain in control of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinians are furious with Hamas. They blame it, as much as they blame Israel, for the devastation in Gaza and the heavy toll the latest round of violence has exacted from the civilian population. But anger is one thing and actions are another.

The Gazans are exhausted and apathetic; they recognize Hamas' power and see no other alternative to the Hamas regime. This is something Israelis and Gazans have in common, as Israel also fears that toppling Hamas' regime in Gaza would lead to anarchy and chaos, and would allow the Islamic State group (ISIS) to gain a foothold in Gaza.

Both Israel and Egypt hope that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will somehow step up to the plate. To this aim, Jerusalem and Cairo have joined forces in their efforts to reinstate Abbas' rule in Gaza, as part of an agreement that would ensure the Palestinian Authority security forces' presence at the crossings, and the PA's supervision over Gaza's rehabilitation.

Nevertheless, it is hard to see Abbas accomplishing something neither Israel nor Egypt wanted to do, or could do, meaning removing Hamas from power. After all, Abbas and his people cannot even visit Gaza safely.

Abbas did not simply lose control of Gaza. He was disgracefully kicked out of it in 2007 in a violent military coup, during which dozens -- possibly hundreds -- of his supporters were murdered in cold blood. Abbas lacks both the military power and the willpower to fight Hamas, let alone defeat it.

Abbas and Hamas need each other, which is why both sides have been willing to pursue a symbolic reconciliation, devoid of any practical meaning.

Hamas is willing to use Abbas to ensure it gets the funds it needs, and it would be willing to tolerate the PA security forces' presence in the crossings to ensure the steady supply of goods to the Palestinian population in Gaza, but it will never surrender control of Gaza or its own security forces to the Palestinian Authority, especially when Abbas has neither the will nor the means to forcibly take them away.

In the meantime, Hamas' leaders may remain in their bunkers, but its operatives are above ground, and they are wasting no time re-establishing Hamas' grip on Gaza.