Board of Peace Publishes Hamas Disarmament Deal; Hamas Sets Conditions

The U.S.-led Board of Peace released the text of a deal on Friday to disarm Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza in phases over three years, a day after President Trump announced it on social media. Hamas responded the same day that it would not take disarmament steps until Israel meets its obligations under last year’s ceasefire, according to Jewish Insider and Middle East Eye.

Trump announced the agreement on Thursday in a Truth Social post, calling it “a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY” and crediting Turkey, Qatar and Egypt as mediators. Under the text, Hamas would hand over heavy weapons, military production sites, weapons depots and tunnels in step with a phased withdrawal by the Israeli military, Jewish Insider reported. Personal weapons would be governed by Palestinian law, and at the end only a new technocratic Palestinian government would hold or control weapons in Gaza. The deal builds on U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803, which endorsed Trump’s Gaza plan.

An international stabilization force, which officials say has commitments for more than 5,000 troops, would train a new Palestinian police force, oversee the decommissioning of weapons and act as a buffer between the sides, according to Jewish Insider; Middle East Eye’s account of the 15-point text says the force would not police or train police and would instead monitor compliance. A Board of Peace verification committee would oversee the steps, and a Board of Peace official said all commitments are conditional and reciprocal. Middle East Eye, which said it obtained the 15-point text, reported that no weapons would be surrendered to Israel or any non-Palestinian party; they would instead be placed under a Palestinian body, the National Committee. The weapons process would depend on three preconditions, none of which has been met yet: completion of remaining obligations under the Sharm El-Sheikh protocol, the committee entering Gaza and the stabilization force deploying. The parties would have 14 days to finalize a timetable.

Hamas is not accepting the sequence the way the Board describes it. Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas figure, told Al Jazeera that the group would take no disarmament steps before Israel withdraws from Gaza, according to Jewish Insider. He told Reuters the group would keep its weapons until Israel stops its attacks, lets in more aid and withdraws as the October ceasefire requires, Middle East Eye reported.

Israel has not publicly acknowledged the 15-point text. Before the announcement an Israeli official told Reuters that Israel demands complete disarmament of Hamas, including removal of weapons from Gaza, as a precondition for any process, Jewish Insider reported. Haaretz quoted an Israeli political source saying there would be no withdrawal from the so-called Yellow Line, which divides Gaza in two, Middle East Eye reported. Trump said Israeli forces would withdraw “as disarmament is completed.” A U.S. official told Jewish Insider that the United States is not asking Israel to do anything beyond the 20-point plan it previously accepted.

The Palestinian Authority is not part of the arrangement for now; officials said it would first have to show it can govern the West Bank and carry out reforms, Jewish Insider reported. A U.S. official also said Iran tried to persuade Hamas not to accept the deal.