Senior officials involved in the negotiations stress that the emerging framework for dismantling Hamas doesn’t rely on trust in the terror organization, but on enforcement mechanisms and conditioning Israeli steps on Hamas actions. Under the deal taking shape, Hamas is expected to hand over its heavy and light weapons, tunnels, and maps in its possession, while Israel will retain the option to return to combat if the terror organization violates the agreement.
As President Trump announced overnight Thursday, if the details are indeed accurate, and the result is in my view a Hamas surrender, then a historic achievement is taking shape—full disarmament (including all light weapons, heavy weapons, and tunnels) and complete end to Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, including a commitment to withdraw from any governmental involvement in Gaza. The immediate news: within just a few weeks, Hamas will begin handing over the weapons it holds.
3+If the details published by Mladenov are indeed realized in the agreement, this represents a significant surrender by Hamas to the framework’s terms.
According to sources involved in the negotiations, after stubborn talks that lasted months under the radar between Nickolay Mladenov, the senior representative of the Peace Council for Gaza, Peace Council representatives, mediators, and Hamas—and with the massive military pressure Israel applied on the organization in the background—my sources tell me Hamas has reached a historic decision.
3+According to my sources, the roadmap for completing implementation of the Trump plan reflects a significant strategic breakthrough, and as part of this, immediately upon signing, Hamas will cease all military activity.
The bottom line: Within a few weeks from today, Hamas begins handing over weapons—hopefully before the Likud primaries.
The senior officials I’m speaking with emphasize that the plan is not based on trust in Hamas, and every Israeli step is conditioned on a Hamas step. The arrangement will include enforcement mechanisms, and Israel will retain the option to return to combat if Hamas doesn’t meet its commitments.
3+The framework reflects that the Israeli pressure led by the Prime Minister’s stubborn policy has proven its effectiveness. Hamas accepted the mediators’ final proposal and will hand over all heavy and light weapons and all tunnels and maps in its possession.
According to the emerging details, weapons transferred from Hamas will be stored in warehouses under NCAG and ISF control, where a decommissioning process will take place—operational disabling of the combat means in a way that won’t allow their return to use.
The significance is that once Hamas transfers the weapons, it will lose the main leverage remaining in its hands. Sources involved in the contacts estimate that some of the messages now coming from Hamas are designed to minimize the sense of public humiliation, after the organization in practice accepted a framework requiring it to hand over all weapons in its possession.
3+If the move is indeed completed, this is an exceptionally rare precedent: a jihadist organization agreeing to surrender its weapons within a political and security arrangement.
This is a historic achievement by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump, who worked here together in full coordination. A year ago they said the government has no strategy and no plan. A year later—we may be seeing exactly how the strategy worked.
This is a strategic victory, not a tactical one. Strategic, led by the two leaders for Israel’s benefit. A year ago they asked what’s the strategy—now things look much clearer.