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Trump’s Gaza disarmament deal
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday an agreement for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire signed last year, describing it as part of a 20-point peace plan.
“"This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government"”
Trump said in a social media post, "This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government" and added that "Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks," as the Board of Peace said Hamas had agreed to a detailed Roadmap for implementing the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire.
The announcement came after Hamas said it had agreed to a deal aimed at fully ending Israel’s war on Gaza, including making provisions to disarm and surrender its weapons in stages, with Israel required to withdraw its forces over a period of time.
Al Jazeera reported that the roadmap for this next phase was finalised by mediators from Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the US, after the US-led Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force for Gaza announced the agreement late on Thursday.
In the same reporting, Al Jazeera said Israel had not publicly agreed to the latest proposal and Hamas said it would not implement any part of the deal unless Israeli forces fulfil their own obligations to withdraw from Gaza under the agreement.
Qatar presses Israel, Hamas conditions
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke by phone with Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas's political bureau, and the Qatari Foreign Ministry said the prime minister and foreign minister welcomed Hamas's decision to accept the roadmap for completing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
In that statement, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stressed the international community’s responsibility to "press Israel to fulfill its obligations under the agreement" and to halt ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.
Al Jazeera quoted Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s negotiating delegation, saying, "Hamas will not implement any step of the Gaza peace deal if the Israeli occupation forces do not fulfil their obligations under the agreement," linking implementation to Israel’s withdrawal commitments.
Al Jazeera also reported that Israel has not commented on the agreement, while Hamas said it would not implement any part unless Israeli forces withdraw, and it framed the announcement against deep Palestinian distrust due to Israel’s failure to adhere to previous agreements.
The AP reported that Hamas said it will begin disarming as part of the deal announced by Trump, but that implementation faces major challenges, including Hamas saying laying down heavy weapons is contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state.
Implementation, verification, and stakes
The agreement’s next phase is described as a staged process in which disarmament advances alongside Israeli withdrawal, with the International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.
“A schedule for an inventory of Hamas’s weapons must be prepared within 14 days”
Al Jazeera said the Board of Peace later released a joint statement with mediating countries, and it detailed that a schedule for an inventory of Hamas’s weapons must be prepared within 14 days, with extensions permitted only if agreed by an international verification commission and all parties involved.
AP reported that a copy of the agreement obtained and verified by The Associated Press said all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the U.S.-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in the enclave.
AP also said a process to decommission and store heavy weapons, military production sites and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian committee and the deployment of international forces, and that the process could take between 200 and 350 days according to a Board of Peace official.
Against the backdrop of ongoing war, ABC News said the conflict has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including over 1,200 killed since the ceasefire, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health, while the United Nations said last week the overall situation remains "brutal."
