Donald Trump has said that Hamas will be forced to disarm after questions swirled around the group’s status following the signing of a peace deal meant to bring an end to the war in Gaza.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Trump said: “If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them and it will happen quickly and perhaps violently.
“But they will disarm, do you understand me?” he added, saying it should take place in a “reasonable period of time”.
Video released on Tuesday by Hamas showed the group’s members executing eight blindfolded, bound and kneeling men whom it called “collaborators and outlaws”.
Speaking in Egypt earlier, Trump said phase two of his peace deal had “started, as far as we’re concerned”, but then said some elements would be implemented over time.
Following the signing of a peace agreement intended to end the war in Gaza, Donald Trump declared that Hamas would be forced to disarm after concerns arose about the organization’s status.
“We will disarm them and it will happen quickly and possibly violently if they don’t disarm,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
He continued, saying that it should happen in a “reasonable period of time,” adding, “But they will disarm, do you understand me’.”.
The White House’s intentions to compel Hamas to disarm and evacuate Gaza, should the second phase of his 20-point peace agreement take effect, are still one of the biggest unanswered questions as a ceasefire negotiated by Trump enters into force in Gaza this week.
Following reports of a direct meeting between White House envoys and Hamas negotiators in the highest-level summit ever between the two sides, the US president’s own comments had implied that the group might continue to play a limited role in Gaza.
He acknowledged earlier this week that the group would play a “limited role” in preserving order in the near future, which begs the question of how the White House might try to negotiate a peace agreement that aims to prevent Israel and Hamas from starting a new war.
Members of the group were seen in a video released by Hamas on Tuesday executing eight men it referred to as “collaborators and outlaws” while they were blindfolded, bound, and kneeling. According to the video’s reporting agency, Agence France-Presse, Hamas was targeting “Palestinian criminal gangs and clans” in Gaza following the signing of a ceasefire between the group and Israel.
Even though his 20-point agreement specifically stated that Hamas would disarm and give up its goal of controlling the Gaza Strip, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that the organization would still play a limited role in enforcing security operations before phase two of the peace agreement began.
“[Hamas] are standing because they have been transparent about their desire to stop the problems, and we granted them approval for a while,” Trump stated.
According to him, rebuilding Gaza would be challenging and risky, and the US should cooperate with local forces to make that feasible.
Trump stated earlier in an Egyptian speech that phase two of his peace agreement had “started, as far as we’re concerned,” but that some components would be put into effect gradually.
He declared that phase two had begun. The phases are somewhat entwined with one another. You are going to begin tidying up. Gaza needs a lot of cleaning, as you can see. “”.
Those comments came after a meeting last week between US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and senior Hamas leaders. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, personally assured him that if Hamas signed the peace deal, he would prevent Israel from resuming the war.
Trump’s envoys met with a Hamas delegation on Wednesday, led by Khalil al-Hayya, the political leader of the militant organization who escaped an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha last month.
According to the US news website Axios, the meeting was the first between the White House and Hamas since US envoy for hostages Adam Boehler met with Hamas leaders in Doha in March in an attempt to secure the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other Americans who were held captive by the group.
The hostages were “more of a liability than an asset for you,” according to Witkoff, who reportedly told Hamas during the 45-minute meeting last week that it was time to arrange a hostage exchange.
“President Trump’s message is that you will receive fair treatment and that he supports all 20 of his peace plan’s points and will ensure that they are all carried out,” Witkoff stated, the Axios source said.
According to the outlet, the deal was secured through a direct meeting between the spy chiefs of Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar. They spoke with Hamas negotiators in private before telling Witkoff and Kushner, “Based on the meeting we just had, we have a deal.”. “”.
