A senior Hamas leader said the movement, through full coordination with resistance factions in the Gaza Strip, has succeeded in nullifying the latest proposal submitted by the Board of Peace, known as the “Mladenov paper,” after Gaza High Representative Nikolay Mladenov.
A delegation from the movement led by Khalil Al-Hayya informed Mladenov during a meeting in Cairo last Monday, with the participation of Global Board of Peace advisor Aryeh Lightstone, of its categorical rejection of the US proposal that includes disarming the resistance in the Gaza Strip. The movement considered it a violation of the primary agreement and a reversal of the ceasefire understandings with Israel signed last October, a movement leader told Al Manassa.
In statements to Al Manassa on Saturday, the leader described the paper as an evasion of the obligation to establish a Palestinian state. He argued the proposal instead focuses on disarming the resistance and altering the path established by President Donald Trump’s plan and the Security Council resolution adopting the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement.
Mladenov had previously informed the Hamas delegation that the issue of establishing a Palestinian state “is not within the jurisdiction of the Board of Peace,” without providing further clarification, adding that his role is limited to ensuring Hamas’ approval of the presented paper, which includes immediate disarmament.
However, the source within the movement’s leadership emphasized that the core of the dispute lies in the efforts of Mladenov and the Israeli occupation to impose immediate disarmament measures without committing to implementing the obligations associated with the first phase of the agreement, and ignoring the clauses that precede addressing this file in the second phase.
The source, who requested anonymity, pointed to a fundamental difference in the interpretation of the text regarding the factions’ weapons. While the movement maintains that the text it signed is limited to “sidelining or storing weapons,” the occupation and Mladenov seek to adopt an interpretation leading to “disarmament and complete destruction of weapons,” which Hamas categorically rejects, according to the source.
He added that the issue of weapons is complex and requires extensive negotiations “when its agreed-upon time comes,” noting that the original text of the agreement was devoid of any clarification or text specifying the entity that is supposed to receive these weapons or supervise the implementation of any agreement regarding them.
In a parallel path to confront the pressures facing the movement and the resistance in Gaza, the leader revealed serious moves that included holding high-level and field meetings between the leaderships of Hamas and Fatah inside the Gaza Strip to formulate a collective national vision for dealing with the weapons file and managing the Strip.
The source confirmed that these meetings resulted in reaching a “document of understandings” between Fatah and Hamas, adopted by the rest of the Palestinian factions. It includes a shared vision for dealing with the weapons file, in addition to discussing the role of the Palestinian Authority in managing the Gaza Strip during the coming phase.
The leader noted that the Fatah leadership participating in those meetings submitted the memorandum of understandings to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for review and discussion in preparation for its official adoption.
The Trump plan, which was agreed upon by Israel and Hamas, stipulates the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the commencement of reconstruction in exchange for the movement’s disarmament.
The plan sets an eight-month timeline beginning with the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza assuming responsibility for security in the territory and ending with the full withdrawal of Israeli forces once there is “final verification that Gaza is free of weapons.”
