As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intensifies pressure to disarm Hamas and other armed factions as part of the second phase of a ceasefire, the Palestinian movement is pushing back, saying the issue of weapons must be resolved through a broader “national consensus.”
Factional sources in Gaza told Asharq Al-Awsat that “general consultations” are underway with Hamas on the weapons issue alongside other matters.
One source said more serious talks with mediators are likely to begin in the coming days, particularly as preparations to hand over governmental responsibilities in the enclave to the Gaza Administration Committee begin.
Netanyahu said at a news conference on Tuesday that the disarmament process will happen either the easy way or the hard way, but it will happen in the end.
US President Donald Trump has also said Hamas must disarm as it had pledged to do, while his envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, said the Board of Peace would put pressure on the movement to disarm.
Senior Hamas officials insist the weapons file is a purely Palestinian matter that does not concern the movement alone, and that any decision must be taken within a framework of “national consensus.”
No agreement yet
A Hamas source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the issue of the “weapons of resistance” remains at the stage of general consultations, whether among factions or with mediators.
The source said Hamas has again floated ideas and approaches, including placing the weapons under the custodianship of an agreed Palestinian body, or under guarantees from mediators, in a way that would prevent their disarmament by US or Israeli means or their transfer to either side.
The sources stressed that no agreement has been reached to date and that the issue has not yet been seriously discussed.
Israeli Channel 13 reported on Monday that the United States is expected in the coming days to present Israel and Hamas with a document setting a deadline to begin disarmament and comply with the conditions of the second phase.
The report said the document would allow the Israeli government to act independently to carry out the process if the Palestinian movement failed to comply.
Israeli military sources, cited by the public broadcaster on Sunday, expressed doubt that Hamas would accept disarmament. Channel 14 reported that a series of military plans had been approved to force Hamas to do so, including the possibility of reoccupying the Gaza Strip in full.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said days ago that a new meeting with Hamas might be needed if required, adding that he expected the movement to agree to disarm eventually.
Inclusive national framework
Hamas sources inside and outside Gaza said the movement wants any agreement on weapons to be reached within a comprehensive, inclusive national framework. They said consultations have taken place with Palestinian factions and that a proposal is being formulated to present to mediators during serious talks on the issue.
Sources said some mediators raised the issue of weapons during recent meetings, including a meeting in Istanbul days ago between Hamas leaders and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
One source said mediators and some parties, which he did not specify, had shown acceptance of approaches put forward during the general consultations that affirm the right of Palestinian factions to retain what enables them to resist occupation.
On Hamas’s understanding of “national consensus,” sources, including a senior leader, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the weapons do not belong to Hamas alone, noting that other armed factions have taken part effectively in resisting the Israeli occupation.
“We cannot alone decide the fate of an important issue tied to the principles and future of the Palestinian cause,” one of the Hamas sources said.
While Hamas appears keen to avoid being seen as standing alone behind a decision to hand over or dismantle faction weapons in a way that would portray it as defeated, the sources rejected that interpretation.
They said several issues must be settled within a framework of Palestinian national consensus, as was done in the handover of governance in Gaza to a technocratic committee.
They added that a national committee of Gaza factions would work with the committee to ensure it receives all the tools needed for government work, to reach an inclusive national formulation on this “fateful issue.”
The sources said national consensus is not limited to weapons but extends to other “existential issues.”
What role for Fatah
Asked whether Fatah would take part in new factional consultations on the weapons issue, a senior Hamas source said: “Certainly, we are seeking that. But we do not know whether it will refuse, as it did in consultations on forming the technocratic committee, or agree. In any case, Hamas has no problem with decisions being taken in the same way.”
He said the goal of factional consultations due to be held soon in Cairo is to reach an explicit agreement on the fate of the weapons of resistance, without any unilateral decision by Hamas or any other faction on this and other critical issues related to the future of Gaza and the Palestinian cause.
These include moving toward a comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue to restore unity under Arab, Islamic, and international sponsorship.
Israeli and US threats
It remains unclear how Israel and the US will respond to Hamas’s steps, as Israel threatens a return to military action. Some Palestinians believe the Trump administration may be open to other options regarding the future of the weapons.
Trump said about Hamas members, roughly two weeks ago, that they were born with weapons in their hands, so giving them up is not a simple matter.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Wednesday that all military, terrorist, and offensive infrastructure will be destroyed, including tunnels and weapons production facilities, and they will not be rebuilt.
He added that independent international monitors would oversee the disarmament process in Gaza, placing weapons permanently out of use through an agreed process to decommission them, supported by an internationally funded buyback and reintegration program.
Mousa Abu Marzook, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in televised remarks that any arrangements concerning Gaza must be reached in understanding with the movement, including the weapons issue. He said Hamas has never accepted handing over its weapons in any form.
