Palestinian-American mediator to present 'gradual disarmament' plan to Hamas

Palestinian-American mediator Bishara Bahbah is preparing a paper to present to Hamas proposing its gradual disarmament, he revealed in an interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper on Wednesday.

He also said that there was a proposal to integrate Hamas’s police force with security forces belonging to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which was set up following the October ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.

Bahbah, a Palestinian-American academic, holds no official diplomatic post but has emerged in recent months as a mediator between Hamas and the US. He heads the pro-Trump “Arab Americans for Peace” advocacy group.

Bahbah also told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that the international stabilisation force will enter the Gaza Strip in April, and the national committee will enter alongside them. It is currently based in Cairo, having been denied entry to the devastated territory by Israel.

Trump’s ceasefire plan included Hamas’s disarmament as part of its second phase but the group has opposed giving up its arms so long as Israel continues to occupy most of the Gaza Strip while launching attacks on a regular basis.

The second phase also includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

“The paper includes gradual disarmament. The process begins with heavy weapons, along with Hamas declaring its commitment not to develop or manufacture any weapons, not to smuggle any weapons, addressing the issue of tunnels, and then personal weapons, which Hamas is requesting to retain for self-defence,” Bahbah told Al-Sharq Al-Aswat.

Regarding the international stabilisation force, Bahbah said that Indonesian troops would be deployed to the south of the country, while those from other countries would be deployed elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.

Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Kosovo, and Albania have all pledged troops for the international stabilisation force.

Bahbah added that a new police force was also being set up, with Egypt and Jordan providing training and an online link available for individuals who wished to join it.

He said that thousands of people in Gaza had volunteered while Hamas was looking to integrate its existing police forces into it.

Bahbah said that there was a possibility for such integration, but Hamas members had to be screened before joining the force, in order to confirm that their loyalty would only be to the force and not to any entity.

Bahbah said it was “regrettable” that the ceasefire’s implementation on the ground had been delayed and said that the US was “turning a blind eye” to Israel’s violations in the Gaza Strip, because Israel still wanted to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities.

However, he said that Israel’s violations would be limited after the International Stabilisation Force enters Gaza, because any Israeli strike would interfere with the work of the forces, and the Palestinian police force would be under the Trump-supported National Committee rather than Hamas.

“Any targeting of it would disrupt the committee’s work, and this will not be allowed by the United States,” he told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.