Israeli peace activist and negotiator Gershon Baskin, in an article posted on his Substack site the morning of Dec. 2, writes that disarming Hamas in Gaza is possible, but the conditions for it must be made to happen first. Those conditions include—among other things—the withdrawal of Israeli forces back to Gaza’s international border, and the establishment of Palestinian governance and a police force that Hamas can turn its weapons over to.
“We are not obligated now to provide a position specifically regarding the weapons,” a Hamas leader, not named, told Baskin. “In the first stage, we implemented everything that was required from us, while the occupation violated and obstructed all the issues required from it.
“Therefore, any discussion about the second stage must be a single comprehensive package, not one isolated point.
“We have previously said that weapons must be regulated, and that only the weapons of the government or the official administration in Gaza should appear, along with a long-term truce.”
There is an implied message that Hamas will give up their weapons, or at least the “offensive weapons” as American mediators have described the process, Baskin writes. “But if that will happen there are also political conditions that must materialize on the ground. This makes a lot of sense. Hamas will never admit defeat. Hamas declared victory after the war ended. Hamas will never surrender to Israel and will never surrender their weapons to Israel.”
“As long as there remains an Israeli military presence inside of Gaza, or as long as Israel controls the points of entry and exit to and from Gaza, it is very unlikely that Hamas will agree to enter into any process of disarmament of decommissioning of its weapons,” Baskin writes, further following a discussion of the Northern Ireland peace process.
“These are the minimal conditions that I believe are necessary to fulfill in order to get Hamas to comply with the demand of Israel and the United States (and most Gazans) to turn over their weapons to a third party (be it Palestinian or a foreign commission):
“• There must be a functioning Palestinian government in Gaza responsible for the day-to-day affairs as specified in the Trump plan and the UNSC Resolution.
“• There must be a new Palestinian police/security force deployed and working subordinate to the new Palestinian Gaza government.
“• There must be the deployment of the International Stabilization Force serving as a physical buffer against Israeli attacks or incursions into Gaza.
“• The blockade on Gaza must come to an end. Goods and people must be allowed to enter and to exit Gaza, as people do all around the world—with the necessary security precautions, but Gaza must be open to the world and open for Gazans.
“• There must be a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza to the international border. (My understanding is that Hamas will agree to a no-entry security perimeter along the Israel-Gaza border, even with short to kill orders, but without any physical presence of Israeli troops inside of Gaza).”
