Mladenov says Hamas must disarm

Nickolay Mladenov used a Jerusalem news conference on May 13 to sharpen the terms of the Gaza ceasefire debate. The envoy overseeing the U.S.-brokered truce said progress toward reconstruction, Israeli troop withdrawals and a new Palestinian administration had been blocked by one issue: Hamas had not disarmed. (pbs.org) He said the requirement was “not negotiable” and added that Hamas did not have to vanish as a political movement if it gave up armed activity. The remarks put disarmament, rather than the group’s political elimination, at the center of the next phase of the deal. Mladenov also said the ceasefire, reached in October, was holding but “far from perfect,” with violations by both sides being handled daily by his office. (pbs.org) Seven months after the truce took effect, he said, the broader plan for Gaza had failed to deliver what Palestinians were promised or the security Israelis wanted. ### What exactly did Mladenov say about Hamas staying in politics? Mladenov said in Jerusalem that “we are not asking Hamas to disappear as a political movement,” while insisting that any political future depended on the group surrendering its weapons. He said Hamas could have a role in postwar Gaza if it “commits to peace,” according to accounts of the briefing. (pbs.org) The distinction matters because past Israeli and international statements have often blurred the line between Hamas as an armed group and Hamas as a political actor. Mladenov’s formulation kept the door open to political participation while ruling out an armed presence in any future governing arrangement. (pbs.org) That framing was described by Bloomberg as part of competing road maps now under discussion. ### Why is disarmament holding up everything else in the ceasefire? The phased agreement links Hamas disarmament to a broader package that includes Israeli withdrawals, an international security presence, reconstruction and the formation of a technocratic Palestinian government. (aljazeera.com) Mladenov said none of those elements could move in full while armed groups remained in place. He put the point starkly in Jerusalem, saying reconstruction could not proceed with militias “on every corner” and weapons stockpiles still intact. He also said Israeli withdrawal to the perimeter depended on “the full elements of the plan unfolding in Gaza,” tying Hamas disarmament directly to Israel’s next military moves. (bloomberg.com) ### What has Hamas said in response? Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson, said Mladenov should identify “the party violating the ceasefire” and press Israel to carry out what was required in the first phase before demanding movement on the second. Hamas has sought to link any demilitarization to Israeli troop pullbacks, a position that has remained a central obstacle in talks. (pbs.org) Israel’s military still controls more than half of Gaza, according to multiple reports on the briefing and the status of the truce. Mladenov said the current arrangement had prevented a return to full-scale war, but he also described conditions for Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents as dire, with many still displaced in tent camps lacking basic services. (pbs.org) ### What warning did he give about delay? Mladenov said seven months of stalled implementation had left “the door to the future of Gaza” closed. CNN reported that he warned failure to advance the next phases risked entrenching a “dangerous status quo,” including a long-term Israeli presence and no viable future for Palestinians in the territory. (aljazeera.com) The warning was tied to the geography of the current truce. Reports on May 13 said Israeli forces remained in control of more than 50% of Gaza, while the ceasefire had not yet translated into the promised reconstruction surge or political transition. (pbs.org) ### What happens next in the negotiations? Mladenov said the Board of Peace has converted President Donald Trump’s original ceasefire proposal into a 15-point “detailed implementation roadmap.” Bloomberg reported that two versions of that road map are under discussion and that some Hamas members could be offered safe passage to third countries if they do not want to take part in a postwar arrangement. (pbs.org) Cairo is one of the main venues for those talks. Mladenov said the implementation plan has been discussed many times with Hamas representatives there, making those negotiations the next identifiable stage in whether the ceasefire moves beyond a frozen first phase. (pbs.org)