President Trump on Tuesday said if Hamas doesn’t disarm as part of the second phase of his plan for peace in Gaza, the U.S. will step in to make that happen.
Speaking alongside Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House, Mr. Trump said Hamas needs to fulfill its obligation under the ceasefire.
The terrorist group has been hesitant to disarm, fearing that after losing its leverage by giving up the living hostages, weapons are the only way to keep Israel from resuming the war in Gaza.
“If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “It will happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm.”
Mr. Trump said his team asked Hamas if it will lay down its weapons and that it said, “Yes, sir, we’re going to disarm.”
If it came down to force, Mr. Trump said, “I don’t have to explain that to you, but if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. They know I’m not playing games.”
It’s unclear under Mr. Trump’s 20-point peace plan where Hamas would hand over its weapons. The plan calls for the terrorists’ demilitarization under international supervision.
Mr. Trump accused Hamas of misrepresenting how many bodies of dead hostages they have because they returned only four of the 28 bodies on Monday.
“I want them back. That’s what they said. I want them back. Also, they said they were going to disarm,” he said.
Hamas’ surrendering its weapons is to be addressed in the second phase of the peace plan. However, Hamas spokesman Hossam Badran told AFP on Tuesday that disarmament is ruled out and not negotiable.
“It is important to note that Hamas’ weapons are not the only ones. Today we are talking about weapons that are the weapons of the entire Palestinian people, and weapons in the Palestinian case are a natural thing and a part of history, the present and the future,” Mr. Badran said.
He also said Hamas is ready to resume the fighting if needed.
“We hope that we will not return to (war), but our Palestinian people and the resistance force will undoubtedly confront and use all their capabilities to repel this aggression if this battle is imposed,” he said.
