Diplomatic momentum is building around a Gaza ceasefire, as Hamas and other Palestinian factions prepare their final response to a “Board of Peace” plan on the movement’s disarmament and the second phase of the deal.
Talks were set to begin in Cairo on Friday and Saturday, with more meetings possible, bringing together Palestinian factions, Egyptian officials, and the Board of Peace’s high representative, Nickolay Mladenov.
Mladenov has held several rounds of talks in Egypt with officials and European representatives, following a second meeting last week with a Hamas delegation.
Sources from Hamas and other factions told Asharq Al-Awsat the group will present a unified Palestinian position, outlining its vision and proposed amendments to the plan submitted more than two weeks ago.
The response will stop short of outright acceptance or rejection, the sources said. Instead, Hamas will propose clear amendments and push for deeper negotiations to prevent Israel from using the process as a pretext to resume the war.
The group also aims to convince mediators, the United States, and the Board of Peace to broaden the talks beyond weapons, to include key provisions from both the first and second phases.
In its latest meeting with Mladenov, Hamas stressed that Israel must fully implement the first phase before any move to the second.
A Hamas source said the group would show flexibility with mediators to reach solutions that prevent renewed fighting, accusing the hardline government of Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking a return to war.
Resetting the terms
Hamas and other factions want a new negotiating framework that reflects Palestinian demands, rather than accepting imposed terms without binding commitments on Israel, another source said.
Details of the response remain undisclosed. But earlier discussions suggested handing over a limited number of vehicles mounted with “Dushka” machine guns, which Israel classifies as heavy weapons. At a later stage, factions could retain light arms under a mechanism overseen by mediators as part of a long-term truce.
Factions say they no longer possess what Israel defines as heavy weapons, such as rockets. Their remaining capabilities, they say, are limited to small numbers of anti-armor projectiles, explosive devices, light weapons such as Kalashnikov rifles, and some vehicle-mounted Dushka guns.
Pressure or coordination
Hamas sources acknowledge the group will face significant pressure in the coming talks, but say key mediators in Egypt, Türkiye, and Qatar understand its demands, even as they urge it to scale back proposed amendments.
A senior Hamas delegation has held meetings in Egypt and Türkiye, including with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, both of whom played key roles in the initial ceasefire negotiations.
Hamas said the meetings were part of consultations on Gaza and proposed amendments, denying that it was coming under pressure from Ankara.
The Board of Peace plan calls for full consolidation of all weapons, including light, heavy, tribal, and personal arms. Israel backs the plan. Hamas rejects it in its current form, citing security threats to its leaders and rejecting any link between disarmament and reconstruction of Gaza.
On the Israeli side, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israel is awaiting Hamas’s response. If it is negative, the decision would fall to Netanyahu’s government, which may move to enforce disarmament by force.
Israeli sources told the paper all options remain open, but with focus on the northern front with Lebanon, a return to fighting in Gaza in the coming days appears unlikely.
