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Senior Hamas Official Rejects US, Israeli Calls to Disarm

20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
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Senior Hamas Official Rejects US, Israeli Calls to Disarm

20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri on Tuesday rejected Israeli and US calls for the group to disarm, saying its right to resist was not negotiable.

"The weapon of the resistance is a red line, and it is not negotiable," he told Reuters.
"We will not accept (any deal) to trade it for reconstruction or the entry of aid."
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday Israel was ready to proceed to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, as long as Hamas was ready to release more of the 59 hostages it is still holding.

Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January 19 under a truce arranged with US support and Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

But the initial 42-day truce has expired and Hamas and Israel, which has blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza, remain far apart on broader issues including the postwar governance of Gaza and the future of Hamas itself.

"We are ready to continue to phase two," Saar told reporters in Jerusalem as

"But in order to extend the time or the framework, we need an agreement to release more hostages."

Hamas says it wants to move ahead to the second phase negotiations that could open the way to a permanent end to the war with the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the devastated Palestinian enclave and a return of the remaining 59 hostages taken in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

But Israel says its hostages must be handed over for the truce to be extended and backs a plan to extend the ceasefire during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Saturday, until after the Jewish Passover holiday in April.

US President Donald Trump's special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is due to visit the region in the next few days to discuss extending the ceasefire or moving ahead of phase two, the State Department said on Monday.

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Arab World

Israel’s Netanyahu to Discuss Second Phase of Gaza Plan with Trump Later This Month

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz address a joint press conference in Jerusalem, 07 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz address a joint press conference in Jerusalem, 07 December 2025. (EPA)
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Israel’s Netanyahu to Discuss Second Phase of Gaza Plan with Trump Later This Month

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz address a joint press conference in Jerusalem, 07 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz address a joint press conference in Jerusalem, 07 December 2025. (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the second phase of a US plan to end the war in Gaza was close, but cautioned several key issues still needed to be resolved, including whether a multinational security force would be deployed. 

Netanyahu, speaking to reporters alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Jerusalem, said that he would hold important discussions with US President Donald Trump at the end of the month on how to ensure the plan's second phase was achieved. 

The prime minister's office in November said that Trump had invited Netanyahu to the White House "in the near future", although a date for the visit has not yet been made public. 

Netanyahu said that he would discuss with Trump how to bring an end to Hamas rule in Gaza. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is entering its second month, although both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce agreement. 

Netanyahu said that it was important to ensure Hamas not only upholds the ceasefire but also follows through on "their commitment" to the plan to disarm and for Gaza to be demilitarized. 

Israel retained control of 53% of Gaza under the first phase of Trump's plan, which involved the release of hostages held by fighters in Gaza and of Palestinians detained by Israel. The final hostage remains to be handed over are those of an Israeli police officer killed on October 7, 2023 fighting Gazan gunmen who had invaded Israel. 

"We'll get him out," Netanyahu said. 

Since the ceasefire started in October, the militant group has reestablished itself in the rest of Gaza. 

GERMAN CHANCELLOR: PHASE TWO MUST COME NOW 

According to the plan, Israel is to pull back further in the second phase as a transitional authority is established in Gaza and a multinational security force is deployed, Hamas is disarmed, and reconstruction begins. 

A multinational coordination center has been established in Israel, but there are no deadlines in the plan and officials involved say that efforts to advance it have stalled. 

"What will be the timeline? What are the forces that are coming in? Will we have international forces? If not, what are the alternatives? These are all topics that are being discussed," Netanyahu said, describing them as central issues. 

Merz said that Germany was willing to help rebuild Gaza but would wait for Netanyahu's meeting with Trump, and for clarity on what Washington was prepared to do, before Berlin decides what it would contribute but that phase two "must come now". 

Israel has repeatedly carried out air strikes since the ceasefire came into effect that it says are fending off attacks or destroying militant infrastructure. Gaza's health ministry says 373 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire started. Three Israeli soldiers have been killed by gunmen. 

Netanyahu said that he would also discuss with Trump "opportunities for peace", an apparent reference to US efforts for Israel to establish formal ties with Arab and Muslim states. 

"We believe there's a path to advance a broader peace with the Arab states, and a path also to establish a workable peace with our Palestinian neighbors," Netanyahu said, asserting Israel would always insist on security control of the West Bank. 

Trump has said he promised Muslim leaders that Israel would not annex the occupied West Bank, where Netanyahu's government is backing the development of Jewish settlements. 

The "question of political annexation" of the West Bank remains a subject of discussion, Netanyahu said. 

Arab World

Al-Sharaa: Israel’s Push for a Buffer Zone in Southern Syria Puts the Region at Risk

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 
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Al-Sharaa: Israel’s Push for a Buffer Zone in Southern Syria Puts the Region at Risk

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa warned on Saturday that Israel’s effort to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in southern Syria risks pushing the country into a “dangerous place.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, al-Sharaa said US-mediated negotiations with Israel remain underway to address the “security concerns” of both sides.

Following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military positions, saying its goal is to prevent the new authorities from seizing the former army’s weapons arsenal.

Over the past year, Israel has repeatedly publicized ground operations and arrests of individuals it accuses of “terrorist” activity in southern Syria. Israeli forces have also entered the Golan Heights disengagement zone established under the 1974 cease-fire agreement.

Al-Sharaa said all major international actors back Syria “in its demand that Israel withdraw and reposition to the lines of Dec. 8.” He emphasized that Damascus insists on full respect for the 1974 accord, describing it as a durable, internationally supported agreement.

“Tampering with this agreement, while proposing alternatives such as a new buffer zone, could drive us into dangerous territory,” he said.

Al-Sharaa accused Israel of “fighting ghosts” and “searching for enemies” in the wake of the Gaza war, adding that since assuming office a year ago he has sent “positive messages about peace and regional stability.”

Thirteen people were killed in late November during an Israeli incursion into the southern town of Beit Jin, a raid Damascus denounced as a “war crime.” Israel said the operation targeted suspects linked to the ISIS group.

Though Syria and Israel maintain no diplomatic relations and remain technically at war, several US-brokered ministerial meetings have been held in recent months.

“Negotiations are ongoing, and the United States is fully engaged,” al-Sharaa said, noting broad international support for addressing “legitimate security concerns so both sides can feel secure.”

He asked: “Syria is the one under attack, so who should be demanding a buffer zone and withdrawal?”

In September, al-Sharaa warned in New York of the risk of renewed Middle East instability if Damascus and Tel Aviv fail to reach a security arrangement, accusing Israel of “delaying negotiations and continuing to violate our airspace and territory.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli forces deployed in the buffer zone outside the occupied Golan Heights in November, a move Damascus condemned as “illegitimate.”

Domestically, al-Sharaa said all segments of Syrian society are now represented in government “on the basis of competence, not sectarian quotas.” Syria, he said, is charting a “new path” for post-conflict governance. He acknowledged the country inherited “deep problems” from the former regime and said investigative bodies are working to address alleged crimes in the coastal region and Sweida.

He stressed that Syria is “a state of law, not a collection of sects,” and that accountability and institutional reform are essential to rebuilding the state.

The Syrian president added that economic revitalization is crucial for lasting stability, which is why Damascus continues to argue for the lifting of the Caesar Act sanctions.

 

 

Arab World

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights
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Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Speaker of the Arab Parliament Mohamed Alyammahi welcomed the UN General Assembly’s decision to renew the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for another three years, saying the vote reflects broad international support for Palestinian rights and a clear rejection of efforts to undermine their cause.

Alyammahi stressed that the mandate’s renewal is particularly critical amid the continued aggression and blockade facing Palestinians, ensuring the agency can maintain its essential services. He noted the strong backing for related resolutions calling for an end to the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The speaker urged leveraging this growing international consensus to halt the assault on Gaza, facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, intensify legal and diplomatic action against the occupation, and advance a credible political process that can help ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.