Hamas agrees to surrender arms, relinquish governance, Peace Board says

ISTANBUL:

Gaza Peace Board’s high representative, Nikolay Mladenov, said on Wednesday that Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza agreed for the first time to surrender their weapons and transfer full civilian and security authority to a UN-recognised transitional administration.

Mladenov made the remarks at a UN Security Council briefing on the implementation of the US-backed Gaza peace plan, according to statements made by the board on X.

“For the first time, Hamas and the armed factions in Gaza have agreed to hand over their weapons and to transfer full governing authority, civilian and security, to a transitional administration recognised by the United Nations,” he said.

Mladenov claimed the move would “dramatically improve life in a sustainable way for Palestinians in Gaza; to provide durable security for Israelis”.

Read: Trump announces deal to disarm Hamas

The Board of Peace unveiled a 15-point roadmap in late July calling for the disarmament of Hamas and other armed factions, the transfer of Gaza’s administration to a National Committee, and a phased Israeli withdrawal.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the plan, saying Hamas must be fully disarmed before any Israeli withdrawal.

Hamas responded by calling for international pressure on Israel to implement the roadmap, saying it remained committed to understandings reached with mediators and the Board of Peace.

All types of weapons

Mladenov said that the roadmap called for the removal of “every category of weapon in Gaza. There is no grey zone and no category left out”.

The process applies to heavy weapons and their production facilities, arms depots, tunnels, personal firearms and weapons held by armed factions.

Under the plan, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) would become the only body authorised to possess, store or control weapons.

“Withdrawal follows verified decommissioning and proceeds in phases. It is sequenced and reciprocal. Each step rests on the successful completion of the one before it,” Mladenov said, adding that “progress is performance-based, not calendar-based”.

He said implementation would follow the principle of “trust nothing and verify everything”.

Read More: Hamas dissolves Gaza govt to advance peace plan

Mladenov identified three conditions for advancing the process: “The International Stabilisation Force must deploy; Israel’s undertakings under the Sharm al-Sheikh Protocol must be implemented; and Hamas must adhere to its commitments.”

He added that “every use of force that does not answer an imminent threat costs this process something very hard to buy back”.

“In the opposite direction, every weapon still carried, every tunnel still worked, and every convoy still obstructed sets the process back,” Mladenov said.

Israel: Disarmament first

Netanyahu, meanwhile, continued to insist that Hamas must be fully disarmed before any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza or the start of reconstruction.

On August 17, Netanyahu discussed the implementation of the plan with Mladenov and US envoy Jared Kushner amid ongoing differences over the sequencing of the steps.

Hamas insisted on a phased and reciprocal process, while Israel demanded that disarmament be carried out first.

Netanyahu’s hardline position comes ahead of an Israeli election on October 27 and amid mounting pressure from far-right coalition partners opposed to making concessions on Gaza.

Far-right Israeli ministers attacked the roadmap after its announcement, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for Hamas to be fully disarmed before any Israeli withdrawal.

Mladenov’s comments come amid daily Israeli attacks on Gaza, in which Palestinians are killed and homes destroyed, along with tents for the displaced, despite a ceasefire that ostensibly went into effect last October.

On Sunday, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to step up attacks and displace residents from parts of Gaza after kites flown by Palestinian children reached Israeli areas near the embattled enclave.

Hamas accused Israel of using the incident as a pretext for escalation.

Transitional administration

On governance, Mladenov said that “Gaza’s crisis has never been only a security or humanitarian problem. It has always been a political and governance problem.”

He said the National Committee was composed of “independent Palestinian professionals. Its purpose is to govern during the transition and restore effective administration”.

The success of the transition “will ultimately be judged not by the structures we establish, but by whether Palestinians experience greater security, more reliable services, and a measurable improvement in daily life”, Mladenov said.

The NCAG was established in January under Palestinian Authority official Ali Shaath to oversee civil and security affairs during the transition.

Last November, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2803 endorsing the US-backed framework for Gaza’s transition, including a technocratic Palestinian administration and an interim international stabilisation force.

Since Israel launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October of 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 174,000 injured, according to Palestinian figures.