Hamas is seeking to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into a new U.S.-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, sources say, a demand likely to ‌be opposed by Israel as the group debates whether to surrender its arms.

Hamas retains control of just under half of Gaza following the cease-fire deal, which ties further Israeli troop withdrawals to Hamas giving up its weapons.

The 20-point plan to end the war, now in its second phase, calls for the governance of Gaza ‌to be handed to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a Palestinian technocratic body with U.S. oversight that is meant to exclude Hamas.

In a letter to staff on ‍Sunday, seen by Reuters, Hamas urged its more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel to cooperate with the NCAG but assured them it was working to incorporate them into the new government.

That would include the roughly 10,000-strong Hamas-run police force, four sources familiar with the matter said, a demand that has not been previously reported. ‍Many of them have been patrolling Gaza as Hamas reasserts its grip in areas under its control.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters the group was prepared to hand over governance to the 15-member NCAG and its chair, Ali Shaath, with immediate effect.

“We (have) full confidence that it will operate based on benefiting from qualified personnel and not wasting the rights of anyone who worked during the previous period,” Qassem said.

The four sources said Hamas is open to the NCAG restructuring ministries and sending some workers into retirement. Mass dismissals risked chaos, the sources said.

Another issue was whether Sami Nasman, the former Palestinian Authority general assigned to oversee security under the NCAG, would be able to operate effectively, a Palestinian official said.

Trump’s administration wants to see heavy ‌weapons decommissioned immediately, with “personal arms registered and decommissioned by sector as (the) NCAG police become capable of guaranteeing personal security,” according to a document shared by the White ‍House last week.

The militant group ⁠is still believed to possess rockets, which several diplomats estimated to number in the hundreds. It is also estimated to possess thousands of light weapons, including rifles.

A Palestinian official close to the disarmament talks said the U.S. had approached Hamas to explore potential disarmament mechanisms.

“Hamas has spoken about the possibility of neutralising arms, which could be achieved if there is a truce, and it is ready for a long-term cease-fire – five years or a little longer,” the official said.