Senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said the group will "not accept foreign rule" in Gaza and will refuse
By Sammy,
Senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said the group will "not accept foreign rule" in Gaza and will refuse to surrender its weapons, pushing back on US and Israeli demands tied to the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Speaking at a conference in Doha, Mashaal declared that "Palestinians are to govern Palestinians" and that "Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza," adding that Hamas rejects "the logic of guardianship \[and\] external intervention."
Defending the group's armed wing, Mashaal said "criminalizing the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept," arguing that "as long as there is occupation, there is resistance," which he called "a right of peoples under occupation." He also urged the Board of Peace to adopt what he described as a "balanced approach" that would support Gaza's reconstruction and allow aid to flow to its roughly 2.2 million residents.
His remarks come as US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue to insist that Hamas give up its arsenal. Trump has said the group "promised" to lay down its arms and has threatened Hamas over the issue. However, Hamas has not publicly committed to disarmament. While Trump's 20 point Gaza plan explicitly requires the group to surrender its weapons, Hamas's statement endorsing the framework included significant conditions and did not directly address giving up its arms.
Topics: Gaza, Israeli Politics, Diplomacy
Reported by Sammy for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.