Senior officials from Palestinian terrorist organizations recently informed Egyptian and Qatari mediators that any discussion of disarmament in Gaza is categorically rejected, particularly as long as there is no ceasefire in Gaza and the IDF has not fully withdrawn.
To that end, the political bureaus of 13 Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, drafted a special document on the matter. According to the document, which was formulated in Beirut by representatives of these groups, their weaponry constitutes a "red line."
According to the London-based Arabic daily Rai al-Youm, this was the basis for recent remarks by senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, who framed the issue of arms in similar terms. Other senior Hamas members have also publicly rejected the disarmament demand. The report added that the statement from the organizations was conveyed not only to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators but also to officials in Turkey and the US.
Following the Beirut meeting, the organizations agreed to deliver a formal and unequivocal message to the mediators: they will not compromise on their weapons. However, they are willing to begin discussions on the issue if and when Israel fully withdraws from the Gaza Strip, a comprehensive ceasefire is implemented, and negotiations begin on the establishment of a Palestinian state. In such a case, the organizations are prepared to discuss integrating their armed wings into the institutions of a future Palestinian state.
The demand to demilitarize Gaza has recently been raised by both Israel and the US. In addition, reports have surfaced of repeated offers to senior Hamas leaders who survived in Gaza, inviting them to leave the territory. According to these reports, the Hamas leaders again refused the offers. The main figures involved are top members of Hamas' military wing who have not yet been eliminated: Mohammad Sinwar (head of the military wing), Izz al-Din al-Haddad (his deputy), and Mohammad Shabaneh (the wing's commander in Rafah).
