Hamas Will Only Hand Over Weapons to the Palestinian Authority

JAKARTA - The Palestinian movement Hamas, which still controls part of the Gaza Strip, has stated that it is ready to hand over its weapons only to the Palestinian authorities.

"Weapons can only be handed over to the Palestinians, whether it is the Palestinian National Authority or the Palestinian state that will later be present in Gaza. Weapons will never be handed over to Israel, its affiliated structures, or the United States," said Deputy Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk, to RIA Novosti as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, June 17.

According to him, the issue of disarmament of Palestinian groups is political and Palestinians must have a clear political perspective. He assessed that the perspective was not contained in the Gaza settlement plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. Without political clarity, he said it could lead to chaos.

"Based on the experience of various countries, stripping the power that controls the Gaza Strip means opening the way to civil war or chaos," he said.

Marzouk cited the experience in Iraq, when US occupation forces disbanded the Iraqi army and police, which then led to chaos, civil war, and the spread of terrorist groups.

In mid-November, the UN Security Council approved a resolution submitted by the United States to support Trump's comprehensive plan to resolve the situation in Gaza. A total of 13 of the 15 council members supported the resolution, while Russia and China abstained.

The US plan for Gaza includes the establishment of a temporary international administration in the region, the formation of a Trump-led peace council, and the deployment of an international stabilization force.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier said the continued implementation of Trump's peace plan for the Gaza conflict was still questionable, given that both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the terms of the initiative.