Hamas says it will 'disarm when Israel keeps its word'

An unpublished Gaza disarmament agreement obtained by Middle East Eye would place Palestinian weapons under the control of a transitional Palestinian authority, rather than surrendering them to Israel or an international force. Hamas said on Friday that any agreement on the “complete disarmament” of Palestinian factions in Gaza depends on Washington and Israel honouring commitments made under last year’s ceasefire. The statement followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US-led Board of Peace had secured an agreement to disarm Hamas and every other armed group in Gaza. MEE has obtained a copy of the 15-point agreement Trump alluded to but which Israel has yet to acknowledge publicly. The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted an Israeli “political source” as saying "there will be no Israeli withdrawal from the Yellow Line", which cuts the Gaza Strip in half. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Trump presented the move as progress towards implementing his 20-point plan and establishing a new Palestinian administration. “This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. A Palestinian street vendor stands at his stall in front of destroyed buildings in Gaza City on 27 July 2026 (Omar Al Qattaa/AFP) He said Israeli forces would withdraw “as disarmament is completed”, while the UN-mandated International Stabilization Force would work with a new Palestinian police force. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Reuters on Friday that the group would retain its weapons until Israel halted its attacks, allowed more aid and goods into Gaza, and withdrew its forces in accordance with the ceasefire agreement reached in October last year. So what’s in the agreement? According to the deal, Hamas and other Palestinian factions would not hand Gaza’s weapons to Israel. Instead, it places them under the control of a body called the National Committee. The document seen by MEE explicitly states that they will remain in Palestinian hands. "No weapons will be transferred or surrendered to Israel or any non-Palestinian parties," the text states, and by the end of the disarmament process, "the National Committee alone shall retain, store, or control weapons in Gaza." Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters in the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on 3 December 2025 (AFP) The agreement describes weapons collection as a domestic process: "The National Committee, as the transitional authority in Gaza, shall be the sole authority for registering weapons, issuing and revoking licenses, and enforcing the law" and "all factions, clans, and elements of Palestinian society in Gaza shall cooperate with the National Committee in this process." Coverage of the deal has framed Hamas as laying down its arms under pressure. The text avoids that framing. It presents the weapons inventory as a Palestinian-run process that outsiders will monitor but not conduct, with the factions themselves participating. Whether that arrangement survives implementation remains a separate question. Israel rarely abides by agreements it has made with Palestinian groups and others. Who controls the weapons? Notably, the deal only works if Israel moves first. Hamas has publicly said it will not implement any part of the roadmap unless Israel meets its obligations, including a full, phased withdrawal from the territory it still controls in Gaza. The document builds that condition into every stage, stating that "the transition from one phase to the next will be contingent upon the verified completion of the previous phase's obligations", with an international commission responsible for verification. A Palestinian mother mourns over the body of her child Mahmoud Sahwil, 14, who was killed during an Israeli strike on a police station in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, as the body lies at the morgue at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on 5 May (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP) It also explicitly links the weapons inventory process "to a phased Israeli withdrawal from the areas it controls in Gaza". The process will begin only "following the completion of the remaining obligations under the Sharm El-Sheikh Protocol, the entry of the National Committee, and the deployment of the International Stability Force" - three preconditions, none of which have happened. The document gives the parties 14 days to finalise the timetable, "within 14 days, subject to extension by a decision of the International Verification Committee," which comprises the guarantor states, the Peace Council and the International Stabilization Force. Role of the International Stabilization Force Public messaging has presented the International Stabilization Force as the security guarantor of the transition. The text gives it a considerably narrower role: "The International Stabilization Force will not perform any policing duties or tasks related to Palestinian society, nor will it undertake any ceasefire enforcement or training of Palestinian police.” “It will also monitor all parties' compliance, the flow of humanitarian and essential needs into the Gaza Strip, and any non-policing tasks as requested by the National Committee,” it added. A Palestinian child stands on the rubble of a destroyed building near the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on 1 July (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP) Instead, the agreement allows the force to "monitor all parties' compliance, the flow of humanitarian and essential needs into the Gaza Strip, and any non-policing tasks as requested by the National Committee" - a body that has yet to enter Gaza, seven months after its appointment. The agreement leaves internal security entirely under Palestinian control: "The National Committee will be responsible for handling internal security incidents." The role of the police and armed forces One consequential clause states that "The inventory/collection of militia weapons and their storage under the authority of the National Committee shall take place according to an agreed-upon timeline. Personnel from these militias shall not be absorbed into the security apparatuses or police.” Post-conflict disarmament processes elsewhere have often folded armed factions into formal security structures to manage demobilised fighters. Full text: 15-point draft peace plan between Hamas and Israel in Gaza Read More » This roadmap rules out that option entirely, leaving open the question of what will happen to the fighters after the committee has logged their weapons. The document takes a more forgiving approach towards existing police personnel, saying that those "who do not meet the required vetting standards will be offered alternative civil roles consistent with their previous expertise or will be retired in accordance with Palestinian law" and "none of these individuals will be deprived of their financial entitlements". No equivalent guarantee exists for militia fighters, only a vaguer promise elsewhere in the text of "reintegration and social support". No budget to rebuild Gaza The governance section contains a firm financial ceiling that has attracted little attention. The agreement tasks the National Committee with assessing "legitimate obligations towards suppliers, contractors, and other parties and address them, not exceeding a total of $400 million", with these measures "implemented gradually over a period of three years, in accordance with priorities determined by the National Committee". The document defers anything beyond that ceiling: "any unresolved financial rights, liabilities, or claims shall be addressed in the context of a broader national process later." It is a strikingly modest sum for an administration expected to oversee reconstruction and a reminder of how threadbare Gaza’s institutional finances remain before a single dollar of rebuilding money arrives.