Disarming Hamas

There is much talk these days in Palestinian and Arab intellectual forums about the issue of disarming Hamas, following the Israeli government's demands to disarm the movement in the Gaza Strip as part of the negotiations for the second phase of the truce agreement and the cessation of hostilities. The discussion sometimes turns heated between those who support disarmament to spare the Gaza Strip further suffering and to stop the war, and those who oppose it, fearing, on the one hand, a repetition of the events of Sabra and Shatila after the 1982 Beirut War and the withdrawal of the revolutionary forces from Lebanon at that time. On the other hand, there is a fear of granting Israel a victory through negotiations that it was unable to achieve through war, destruction, and killing over the course of a year and a half, and on the third hand, denying the Palestinians the right to use armed struggle as a form of resistance.

This discussion, in principle, indicates a national concern, even if the orientations, opinions, and positions differ and their intensity. It also demonstrates the vitality of Palestinian society in particular in confronting citizens' concerns, and the ability to evaluate, criticize, and correct or strengthen any course of action. It is my conviction of the necessity of speaking out and criticizing at the appropriate time, not after it is too late, and for the person or entity responsible or competent.

In my opinion, the disarmament or disarmament of Hamas or other Palestinian armed factions could take place within two central frameworks. The first: within the framework of a Palestinian-Palestinian agreement on the administration of government, including the nature of dealing with weapons, the mechanisms for their use, how to resolve disputes through law, and the prevention of their use in political disputes. It should also include the provision of related guarantees, especially after the armed conflict between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in 2006 and 2007, and the seizure of power by force of arms by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This could take the form of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland until the end of Israeli colonization of the Palestinian territories.

Or the second: In the context of what is known as the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) process undertaken by the United Nations with the aim of contributing to security and stability in post-conflict environments so that recovery and development can begin, and addressing the post-conflict security problem that arises when former combatants are left without livelihoods or support networks, unlike their former comrades, during the vital transitional period from conflict to peace and development. Or as stated in the reconstruction plan approved by the emergency Arab Summit "Palestine Summit" in Cairo on March 4, 2025, which stipulated that "the dilemma of the multiplicity of Palestinian groups bearing arms is something that can be dealt with, and even ended once and for all, if its causes are removed through a clear horizon and a credible political process that restores rights to their owners."

That is, disarmament is linked to political developments and security arrangements that achieve peace and end Israeli colonialism on the one hand, or security arrangements related to an internal agreement on the methods, means, forms, and nature of Palestinian resistance, or according to what is called in Palestinian custom the “struggle strategy,” which determines which forms of struggle and means of resistance are most beneficial, influential, or effective within the framework of the stages of the popular liberation war.

Both situations require local and international guarantees to prevent the Israeli government from resuming war, assassinations, or military incursions. They also require a credible path to peace based on the two-state solution, leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, borders. They also require an effective international presence of peacekeeping forces through United Nations missions to create the appropriate conditions for achieving lasting peace.