Hamas Refuses to Discuss Denuclearization Until Israel Fulfills All Its Obligations

The Hamas militant group. (Hassan Alzaanin/TASS)

JAKARTA - The Palestinian militant group Hamas has told mediators it will not discuss a proposal for disarmament before Israel fulfills its obligations under the first phase of the Gaza Strip peace plan initiated by US President Swerikat Donald Trump, according to sources in Cairo.

The sources told The National, Hamas wants Israel to first withdraw from the territory it occupies beyond the ceasefire line drawn under Trump's plan, and to allow sufficient humanitarian and reconstruction material to enter the region devastated by the war.

Hamas' disarmament is part of the second phase of a peace plan. The first phase saw the Palestinian militant group release alive hostages it had seized from Israel along with the bodies of others who died in custody.

In return, Israel released 2,000 Palestinians it had detained and the bodies of another 300.

The Israeli military also retreated behind the "yellow line" that left them in control of more than half of the Gaza Strip.

However, Israel has continued its attacks that have killed hundreds of Palestinians since the ceasefire was imposed in October, and seized territory beyond the yellow line.

The second phase of the plan includes handing over Gaza's government to a UN-approved Palestinian committee, disarming Hamas, and deploying an International Stabilization Force to maintain security in the Gaza Strip.

However, the implementation of the 20-point plan seems to have stalled, as the US and Israel are busy with their war against Iran and the international community is focused on the escalating energy crisis due to Tehran's de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

The proposal relating to the disarmament of Hamas is included in the plan of action submitted by Nickolay Mladenov, the main envoy of the Peace Council (BOP) mandated to oversee the implementation of the plan.

The proposals make the implementation of other provisions of the peace plan, such as reconstruction and Gaza's management by an independent Palestinian committee, dependent on progress in Hamas' disarmament.

According to these sources, Hamas did not reject the proposals as a whole, but would not give a final response to them as is.

"Hamas has shared with Egyptian mediators an alternative vision for dealing with the issue of disarmament, which envisages a three-year period that begins with the collection and storage of heavy weapons but with Hamas retaining light weapons and firearms for self-defense," one of the sources told The National, as quoted on Monday (6/4).

"They proposed this as a temporary arrangement until the transition phase in Gaza is completed," the source said, referring to an unspecified time before presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The final phase of President Trump's plan includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government insists that the Israeli military will not leave the area until Hamas is completely disarmed.

Hamas' position on Mladenov's proposal was conveyed to Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday last week, according to the sources.

However, the US may continue to reconstruct Gaza without Hamas disarmament, but only in areas that are entirely under Israeli military control, according to Reuters.

"Promises of funding for reconstruction, most of which came from the Gulf Arab states, were held up during the Iran war," he said.

Mladenov said in a social media post on Wednesday that all parties involved in the mediation had supported the plan.

"The international community has supported it, now it's time to agree on a framework for its implementation. For the sake of Palestine and Israel, there is no time to waste," he said on X.

The current conflict in Gaza was triggered by an attack by the Palestinian militant group led by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and 251 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli calculations.

Israel retaliated with air raids, blockades and ground operations in Gaza that killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel has also destroyed most of the buildings in the Gaza Strip, displacing most of its residents, in many cases multiple times.