Nikolai Mladenov Urges Hamas To Step Down From Gaza Governance After Meeting Benjamin Netanyahu

Nikolai Mladenov, the top U.N. envoy to Gaza's peace process, called on "the political leadership currently governing the Gaza Strip" to step down, in reference to Hamas, after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Jerusalem office.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement that Mladenov’s call would "practically plunge the enclave into chaos and lawlessness," and renewed the call for the immediate empowerment of the National Committee to manage Gaza, known as the Technocrats Committee.

Al-Jazeera Net

Mladenov said the roadmap does not call for Hamas to disappear as a political movement and argued that those who respect the law and fulfill their duties have a place in the new framework, while those who cannot accept it would be provided a safe passage to a third country.

He also said what is non-negotiable is the existence of armed factions or militias with their own command-and-control systems and weapons depots and tunnel networks, alongside a transition to governance by the Palestinian Authority.

The Technocrats Committee, composed of Palestinian technocrats including its head Ali Shaath, began its work in mid-January from Egypt but had not yet started work inside Gaza, according to the account of the process in the source.

Talks on implementing the Gaza agreement were hosted in Cairo with Hamas after meetings with UN Special Representative for Gaza Nikolai Miladinov, and the discussion centered on guarantees of implementation as Israel insisted on disarming and Palestinian factions insisted on a full Israeli withdrawal.

Three sources, two Egyptian officials and another Palestinian, told Reuters that Hamas informed mediators it would not discuss disarming without obtaining guarantees of a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, in line with the disarmament plan laid out by the Council of Peace.

Al-Jazeera Net

Ambassador Raghah Ahmed Hassan said the guarantees Hamas seeks require agreement on Israeli withdrawal and the formation of stabilization forces in the Gaza Strip, while Dr. Ayman Al-Raqb argued that guarantees are a Palestinian right that Israel must commit to.

Miladinov wrote on the X platform that "the international community supports the plan" and said it is time to agree on a framework to implement it for the benefit of both Palestinians and Israelis alike.

A separate source close to the Council of Peace told Reuters that Hamas’s response likely means talks on Hamas’s disarmament will probably not yield immediate progress, with the movement set to meet mediators again next week.

Negotiations between Hamas and the Gaza-based Peace Council reached a dead end, with Hamas insisting on its weapons and refusing to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, according to Kan as cited in Euronews.

“The movement called on Israel to fulfill its commitments under the Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement, leading to a complete and immediate end to the war according to an agreed timeline”

Euronews

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said, "Our position on the weapons of the factions is clear," tying the issue to a broader political context including the right to self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Israel told Mladenov it would not withdraw beyond what is known as the Yellow Line in Gaza, and an Israeli security official warned that if Hamas does not disarm, "the army will soon return to fighting to complete the mission."

Euronews also said an Israeli Security Cabinet meeting on Saturday discussed the possibility of resuming military operations in Gaza following Hamas’s latest proposal, while an informed source said Israel sought tangible steps toward disarming alongside pushing to form a new technocratic government.

The same broader dispute over disarmament and governance continued as Mladenov said disarmament demands are non-negotiable and that Hamas could have a role in post-war Gaza if it disarms, while also stating, "We are not asking Hamas to disappear as a political movement."