Palestinian Factions, Including Hamas, Discuss Partial Disarmament

Palestinian factions, including the Hamas group, are discussing disarmament as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel. At a meeting held in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, members of the Palestinian factions were said to have agreed in principle for armed groups in the Gaza Strip to hand over part of their weaponry to an ad-hoc Palestinian entity that has yet to be formed. The proposal is almost certain to be rejected by Israel, which demands total demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, beginning with Hamas. Several participants in the Cairo talks, which commenced on Saturday (6/6), expressed hope that the proposal would break the months-long deadlock in negotiations about the future of the Gaza Strip. The talks were attended by most major factions, including Hamas and its ally, Islamic Jihad. However, the Fatah faction, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, did not attend. Palestinian sources speaking on Tuesday (9/6) local time said the factions discussed the details of handing over weapons to a new entity representing various Palestinian political currents. According to several anonymous sources familiar with the discussions in Cairo, the Palestinian factions rejected the idea of full disarmament, as demanded by Israel. One participant in the Cairo talks said that Egypt and mediators are working to formulate a new, acceptable formula that considers the factions’ agreement. A Palestinian political official involved in the talks, who requested anonymity, said that Egyptian and Qatari mediators welcomed this approach. ‘Hamas links the weapons issue to a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza… and to the reconstruction of Gaza,’ the official said. Separately, a senior Hamas official, Taher al-Nunu, stated that recent days have brought ‘significant progress’. He added that the Palestinian factions aim to implement a peace plan conceived by United States (US) President Donald Trump for Gaza. The Hamas group has repeatedly stated that it does not oppose handing over part of its arsenal, but only as part of a Palestinian political process. Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has also suggested ‘freezing’ or ‘storing’ weapons, an idea rejected by Israel.