Mladenov says Hamas must disarm

Nickolay Mladenov said on May 13 that the Gaza ceasefire has stalled over one question: whether Hamas will give up its weapons. In remarks in Jerusalem after meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the envoy overseeing the U.S.-brokered truce said the issue was “not negotiable” and that progress on reconstruction, Israeli troop withdrawals and new governance in Gaza was being held up by the dispute. (pbs.org) He said Hamas was not being asked to vanish as a political movement, but armed factions could not remain in place under the plan. Israeli strikes in Gaza have meanwhile increased, with ACLED reporting a 35% rise in attacks in April from March. (usnews.com) ### What exactly did Mladenov say is blocking the ceasefire? (pbs.org) Nickolay Mladenov told reporters in Jerusalem on May 13 that Hamas’ obligation to surrender its arsenal is the central sticking point in the ceasefire framework. He said “you cannot build a future with armed groups running the streets” and described disarmament as essential before reconstruction and broader political steps can move ahead. The ceasefire plan described by Mladenov calls for Hamas to surrender weapons and destroy tunnels, while Israeli forces withdraw and a new technocratic Palestinian government and international security presence take shape in Gaza. He said those tracks are linked, and that the plan cannot advance in pieces while Hamas remains armed. (pbs.org) ### Is Mladenov saying Hamas must be eliminated politically? Mladenov said on May 13 that Hamas does not have to “disappear as a political movement.” He drew a distinction between Hamas as a political actor and Hamas as an armed force, saying a party that disavows armed activity could still compete in Palestinian elections. (pbs.org) That formulation matters because it narrows the immediate dispute to weapons and control on the ground, not to the formal erasure of Hamas from Palestinian politics. Mladenov said what cannot continue is the existence of armed factions or militias alongside a transitional Palestinian authority. (pbs.org) ### Why has this become more urgent now? ACLED said in a report published May 13 that Israeli attacks in Gaza rose 35% in April compared with March. Reuters also reported that, since the Iran war was paused on April 8, 120 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, a 20% increase from the prior five-week period. (aljazeera.com) Israeli defense officials told Reuters the military believes Hamas has been rebuilding its forces and making weapons. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ceasefire still allows Israel to act against imminent threats and that wider battle plans had been prepared, though no order to resume full fighting had been given. (timesofisrael.com) ### How is the deadlock affecting Gaza itself? Mladenov said seven months after the ceasefire, reconstruction has been paralyzed and the “door to the future of Gaza is still closed.” He said nearly all of Gaza’s roughly 2 million people have been displaced and many remain in tent camps without basic services. (usnews.com) Reuters reported that Israeli forces still occupy more than half of Gaza and that more than 2 million people are living in a narrow coastal strip, largely in damaged buildings or makeshift tents. In that setting, the ceasefire exists formally, but Mladenov said violations by both sides are being addressed daily and some are serious. (usnews.com) ### Where do Hamas and Israel appear to differ most? The Times of Israel reported that the Board of Peace gave Hamas until April 11 to accept a proposal for the gradual handover of all arms, but Hamas instead submitted a counteroffer linking the issue of weapons to a broader framework ending in a Palestinian state. That position is unacceptable to Netanyahu’s government, according to the report. (pbs.org) Mladenov said the only way to ensure Israeli withdrawal to the perimeter is to have the full ceasefire plan unfold inside Gaza. That leaves negotiators trying to sequence disarmament, withdrawal, governance and reconstruction at the same time rather than treating them as separate files. (pbs.org) ### What happens next? Benjamin Netanyahu met Mladenov in Jerusalem on May 13 as the envoy continued talks on implementing the ceasefire and postwar governance plan. Mladenov said his earlier meeting with Netanyahu had been “positive and substantive,” but he also said the truce is “far from perfect” and that serious violations continue. (timesofisrael.com) The next test is whether mediators can bridge the dispute over Hamas’ weapons without collapsing the rest of the ceasefire framework. For now, the named participants remain the same: Mladenov, Netanyahu, Hamas negotiators and the U.S.-backed Board of Peace process tied to the 20-point Gaza plan. (timesofisrael.com) (pbs.org)