Israel and the United States have rejected a paper submitted jointly by Palestinian factions, including Hamas, that links their disarmament to Palestinian statehood and security guarantees, following the latest round of negotiations over the future of Gaza, reported Middle East Eye on May 3. A senior Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks told MEE that the Palestinian proposal called for negotiations over the disarmament of Hamas and other groups to be tied to the granting of political rights for the Palestinian people “within the national framework,” as well as to commitments that the people of Gaza would no longer be killed.
On Friday, May 1, Palestinian representatives provided their proposal to Egypt and Turkiye, which have been mediating the talks.
On May 2, the “mediators and the Americans both refused the Palestinian factions’ paper and passed threatening messages from the Americans to the Palestinian negotiating team,” the senior Palestinian source said. Palestinian factions insist that disarmament cannot come before a political resolution that includes Palestinian statehood, while Israel and the United States have framed it as a prerequisite for any durable ceasefire. In other words, the legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinians are to be subordinated to Israeli demands for “security.” In practice, it means the occupation will continue.
