More recently, Hamas has maintained publicly that it is opposed to disarmament. It has suggested convening a Palestinian national dialogue about the future of Gaza, including on the fate of its arms.
The war with Israel has significantly weakened Hamas, and there are splits within the group on important questions about its future direction.
Serious unresolved questions remain about what happens after the hostage release including Hamas disarmament, Israel’s withdrawal timeline and the future governance of Gaza.Credit: AP
Some leaders and members want Hamas to refuse to give up its weapons, even if that comes at the price of renewed war and the deaths of more Palestinians. Others say the group needs to be more pragmatic on weapons and other matters.
By giving up the remaining hostages in Gaza, Hamas traded away significant leverage with Israel with no certainty that it would achieve all its goals in return.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently said that Hamas must be disarmed before the war in Gaza can permanently end.
Hamas has long regarded that demand as tantamount to surrender and views armed struggle as a legitimate form of resistance against Israeli control over Palestinian lands.
Netanyahu vowed this month that Hamas would be disarmed and Gaza would be demilitarised, either through diplomacy or by force.
“Either it will be achieved the easy way, or it will be achieved the hard way,” he said. “But it will be achieved.”
Some Arab mediators said they believe that they can persuade Hamas to partially disarm, as long as President Donald Trump guarantees Israel will not restart the war.
Sheikh Mohammed said one question that needed to be addressed was to whom Hamas would hand over its weapons. He said there was a marked difference between Hamas giving its weapons to a Palestinian authority and the group giving them to another entity.
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It is still not clear when negotiations about the outstanding disputes between Israel and Hamas will begin.
Trump’s road map for ending the war in Gaza calls for the establishment of a temporary international stabilisation force. Sheikh Mohammed said the next step should be the discussion on the formation of such a force, which he views as connected to Hamas’ disarmament and further withdrawals of Israeli troops from Gaza.
As the force takes control, the Israeli military should withdraw based on agreed-upon “standards, milestones and time frames linked to demilitarisation”, the US plan says.
The stabilisation force should also train Palestinian police officers and help secure border zones, according to the plan.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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