The US will offer “amnesty” to Hamas fighters in Gaza who lay down their arms, a Trump administration official has confirmed.
Following the recovery of the body of Ran Gvili, the final Israeli hostage held by the terror group, attention has turned to the next phases of the US-led ceasefire process.
Disarmament has been cited by both Washington and Jerusalem as a key component of any peace plan, with both calling on Hamas to give up its weapons voluntarily.
"We think disarmament comes along with some sort of amnesty, and candidly, we think we have a very good program to disarm,” the official told reporters during a formal press briefing.
"We’re in contact, or people representing us, are in contact with [Hamas], and we expect it to happen.”
Hamas’ leadership has repeatedly declined calls for disarmament, with political bureau co-chair Khaled Mashaal telling Al Jazeera in December: “The idea of total disarmament is unacceptable to the resistance. What is being proposed is a freeze, or storage (of weapons)… to provide guarantees against any military escalation from Gaza with the Israeli occupation.
"Disarmament for a Palestinian means stripping away his very soul.”
But the US official reiterated the administration’s conviction that Hamas’ military capabilities would be neutralised either way, adding: “They signed an agreement… if they decide to play games, then obviously President Trump will take other actions.”
The briefing came after Prime Minister Netanyahu told a session of the Knesset that “demilitarisation”, and not “reconstruction”, would be the next phase of the process now that Ran has been returned home.
“We are at the threshold of the next phase: Disarming Hamas and demilitarising the Gaza Strip,” he said.
“The next phase is not reconstruction. We have an interest in advancing this phase, not delaying it. The sooner we do so, the sooner we will complete the objectives of the war.
"[Demilitarisation] will happen – as our friend Trump said – the easy way or the hard way, but it will happen.”
His remarks were backed by the same official, who responded: “President Trump is fully aligned with Prime Minister Netanyahu with [the] statement that the rebuilding will not occur until there’s a demilitarisation and a disarmament of Hamas.”
Washington is, they added, working on a disarmament plan in conjunction with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators, with an announcement due in the coming days.
One idea that has reportedly been floated in the negotiations is a “buyback” programme for light arms, while all Hamas’ heavy weaponry would be destroyed or seized.
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