GAZA CITY (Palestinian Territories), July 31 — Senior Hamas officials told AFP on Friday that the deal reached with Israel to end the war includes provisions addressing the group’s weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
The thorny issue of Hamas’s disarmament has been one of the key sticking points in the advancement of the ceasefire deal that has been in place between Israel and the group in Gaza since October.
Despite the ceasefire, daily violence has continued in Gaza, with Israeli strikes targeting what the military describes as Hamas militants.
“An agreement has been reached regarding the issue of weapons… Furthermore, an agreement has been reached on a gradual withdrawal of (Israeli forces)” from the strip, a Hamas official said.
The official added that the Islamist movement now expects the mediators and US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to ensure that Israel complies with the terms of the deal.
Ghazi Hamad, a member of the group’s negotiating team, said the movement was making “concessions for the sake of our people in the Gaza Strip, to save them from killing and displacement”.
He said the issue of the group’s weapons is tied to Israel’s withdrawal, the deployment of the National Committee and reconstruction work in the territory.
“Israel will not intervene in the issue of disarmament. The National Committee is the body that will undertake this task,” he said.
“The National Committee for Administration of Gaza (NCAG) shall manage and execute the cataloguing and storage of weapons in accordance with the agreed timetable,” the senior official said.
“The National Committee will be the sole entity authorised to retain, store, or control weapons in Gaza.”
The National Committee for Administration of Gaza, established by the Board of Peace, has yet to enter the Gaza Strip.
‘Lengthy, difficult’ negotiations
Hamad said the agreement was reached after “lengthy and difficult” negotiations that began about six months ago.
“The agreement addresses ending the war, the entry of the National Committee into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction and the deployment of international forces,” he told AFP.
“This is an integrated framework whose components must remain interconnected,” Hamad said, adding that other armed militias must also be dismantled.
He said Hamas would now discuss the implementation details with the mediators and agree on a timetable for carrying out the deal.
“This process will take about 14 days, or perhaps longer. We must agree on every detail: how the agreement will be implemented, when it will be implemented and the mechanisms for carrying it out. This is what will take place in the coming days.”
“The agreement contains a clear provision stating that Israel must commit to and implement its obligations. If Israel does not implement the agreement, neither will we,” Hamad added.
Earlier this month, Hamas announced the dissolution of its body that governed Gaza for nearly two decades, clearing the way for the NCAG to implement civilian rule in the territory of more than two million people.
The move marked a significant political shift by Hamas, which has run Gaza since its fighters seized control from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in 2007 after winning legislative elections the previous year.
Meanwhile, the senior Hamas official also confirmed that the issue of cataloguing the group’s weapons “shall coincide with a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the areas under Israeli control in Gaza, leading to a complete withdrawal”.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, Israeli forces have expanded the area under their control in the Gaza Strip, and currently hold more than 60 per cent of the territory. — AFP
