Hamas, the militant group involved in the ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations, has expressed willingness to engage in discussions regarding the management of its weapons. Bassem Naim, a senior official in Hamas’ political wing, confirmed the talks publicly and stated that his group was weighing its options. They are receptive to ideas around “freezing or storing” their firearms. This latest development occurs as part of the United States-brokered ceasefire agreement, which hopes to see the demilitarization of Gaza.
The disarmament of Hamas has been a major sticking point in the negotiations over a ceasefire. Hamas must surrender its weapons, according to the second phase of a 20-point ceasefire deal. This process will be carried out under the supervision of independent monitors. To that end, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear Israel’s primary objective for this next stage. He added, “Our goal is to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza.”
Naim sounded Hamas’ new line in a statement to the Associated Press.
“We can talk about freezing or storing or laying down, with the Palestinian guarantees, not to use it at all during this ceasefire time or truce.” – Bassem Naim
Notably, we don’t know if these concessions would be enough to meet Israel’s purported demands for Hamas’ complete disarmament. As if the reality of the situation wasn’t difficult enough, now there are alarm bells being sounded by various other stakeholders in the negotiations. Even Qatar, Egypt and Norway—whose governments helped shepherd this ceasefire into existence—are alarmed. They are concerned it might be jeopardized if the negotiations don’t progress in a promising direction.
Additionally, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stressed how serious these negotiations are.
“Now, we are at a critical moment (of the Gaza ceasefire),” – Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
The second phase of the ceasefire agreement now adds provisions for an international security force. This force will be directly monitoring the grim reality on the ground in Gaza. Important information about this force, particularly which countries will make up the coalition, is still shrouded in mystery.
Netanyahu underlined that Israel is “very, very close” to proceeding to the next stage. His remarks certainly speak to the depth of urgency during the negotiations.
“It’s not yet there, so what we have just done is a pause.” – Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
Negotiations continue over disarmament and the control of weapons. Hamas’ willingness to engage with such alternatives would be critical in determining the prospects for any ceasefire that might develop. Naim further pointed to the group’s willingness to embrace international scrutiny as a notable development.
“We are welcoming a UN force to be near the borders, supervising the ceasefire agreement, reporting about violations, preventing any kind of escalations,” – Bassem Naim
