Sources from Hamas told Asharq Al-Awsat that its delegation received a proposal days ago to disarm the Gaza Strip, submitted by the executive body of the Board of Peace established by US President Donald Trump.
A senior Hamas source based outside Gaza said that what was presented appeared to be a “threat message.”
Two other Hamas sources and a third from another Palestinian faction, all inside Gaza, said the proposal calls for handing over “all weapons inside Gaza without exception.”
The Palestinian faction source said that “the demand is to remove the weapons of all factions, clans, and even personal arms, including those held by leaders at all levels, even if intended for personal protection.”
Reuters reported on Saturday, citing two sources, that the Board of Peace had submitted a written proposal to Hamas outlining how it would surrender its weapons.
The agency said the proposal was presented during a meeting in Cairo attended by Nikolay Mladenov, the high representative of the Board of Peace, and Aryeh Lightstone, a special assistant to US envoy Steve Witkoff.
A senior Hamas source said the movement’s delegation told the meeting that armed factions in Gaza remain committed to what has been agreed and are ready to implement all phases of the deal.
The source said the priority is to move ahead with agreed stages, then address weapons and negotiations over them.
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was reached in October under a 20-point plan proposed by Trump and divided into phases.
Israel has yet to implement the clause requiring withdrawal from areas it occupies in the enclave, which accounts for 55% of Gaza’s territory, while the disarmament clause comes later.
A Hamas source said the plan aims to tie reconstruction and changes to governance in Gaza exclusively to surrendering weapons.
“What was presented was a threat message, not a rational proposal that engages the issue through negotiation, weighing positives and negatives. There are attempts to impose dictates that are unacceptable to us and to the broader Palestinian national consensus,” the source said.
Hamas sources said the proposal has been referred for internal discussions within the movement and among Palestinian factions, noting it does not set a deadline for a response.
People familiar with the proposal said the prevailing view within Hamas and Gaza factions is to reject linking disarmament to reconstruction.
A Hamas source inside Gaza confirmed that it is one of several proposals previously put forward.
“What the movement received is not final and does not present a clear and comprehensive vision covering all aspects of the weapons issue and other matters related to the second phase,” said the source, who requested anonymity.
Hamas, betting on its position as the largest armed group in the enclave, is consulting Palestinian factions to reach a “unified national position, particularly on the issue of weapons.”
The senior Hamas source outside Gaza said: “We have no objection to reaching an agreement, provided it does not compromise national constants and key principles that keep the Palestinian cause at the forefront of global priorities until the occupation ends, even if through a clearly defined political path that grants Palestinians genuine sovereignty.”
US officials said the Iran-backed Hamas could be offered amnesty under any agreement in which it agrees to surrender both heavy and light weapons, including rifles.
