Meshaal stressed that the threat comes from Israel, “not from Gaza, which they are demanding be disarmed,” describing the removal of Palestinian weapons as “taking out their soul.”
Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas’ political bureau abroad, said the movement has developed its own framework regarding weapons and is attempting to convince the US administration of this approach. He argued that Gaza “has done its part” and that the priority now is for the Strip to rise and recover.
Speaking on Al-Jazeera’s Mawazin program in the episode aired on Wednesday, Meshaal addressed multiple issues, including Hamas’ position on the Gaza Strip, the wider Palestinian resistance, and US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza.
Discussing Israeli demands to disarm the resistance, he said Hamas is presenting mediators with a proposed formula that would offer guarantees preventing the recurrence of war with Israel.
This, he explained, includes the question of “how weapons can be safeguarded, kept out of sight, and not used.” He added that the resistance had also proposed a long-term truce as a mechanism for real guarantees.
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Meshaal stressed that the threat comes from Israel, “not from Gaza, which they are demanding be disarmed,” describing the removal of Palestinian weapons as “taking out their soul.”
He expressed confidence that Hamas could persuade the US administration of its approach, pointing to what he called the “pragmatic mindset” of American officials, and said that mediators have begun discussing this concept with Washington.
Turning to Gaza’s internal priorities, Meshaal stated that the coming phase must focus on rebuilding and restoring life in the Strip. Gaza, he said, “has done all it can and more”. He noted that Hamas has informed mediators that it needs support to help Gaza stand again.
Regarding the proposed international stabilization force, Meshaal said the resistance does not object to the presence of a UNIFIL-type force along the border to separate Gaza and Israel.
Meshaal also commended Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Aty’s recent remarks on Al-Jazeera, in which he said an international force should “maintain peace, not impose it.”
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Gaza’s Governance
Meshaal said Hamas had agreed to hand over Gaza to a technocratic government and to unify governance between the Strip and the occupied West Bank, but the process was blocked by the war and by Israel’s veto.
He revealed that a recent round of in-depth discussions with other factions and with Egypt produced a list of 40 candidates, later narrowed to eight representing Gaza’s social and political diversity. Israel, he said, is obstructing this step.
The top Hamas official warned that Trump’s proposed “peace council” poses serious dangers, stressing that Hamas rejects the executive body envisaged under the plan, which he described as a form of external guardianship.
“We want Palestinians to govern themselves, and they alone should decide who leads them,” he said.
Meshaal also said the Palestinian cause has reasserted itself regionally and internationally, moving back to the center of global attention, while Israel has become increasingly isolated because of its actions in Gaza, which he described as genocide.
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He argued that plans to normalize relations with Israel or sideline the Palestinian issue have become far less viable since October 7, 2023, except for “those choosing to ignore what Israel’s two-year war has produced.”
Meshaal warned that Israel is carrying out a de facto annexation of the occupied West Bank, attempting to impose Israeli political control through gradual, practical steps.
He said the Palestinian Authority bears significant responsibility and knows that “its political project has failed,” leaving it reduced to a security apparatus in the eyes of many.
(PC, AJA)
