Gaza peace deal under pressure amid defiant talk before second phase

Disarming Hamas was never going to be easy, despite the terrorists’ ostensible acceptance two months ago of Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. The difficulty has been amplified in recent days, with Hamas leaders based in Qatar insisting, as did the terrorists’ political chief Khaled Mashaal, that Hamas “will not disarm or give up control of Gaza” or suggesting, as political bureau member Bassem Naim did, a weapons “decommissioning” process of five to 10 years. Amid such defiant talk, international news outlets have reported that since signing of the peace accord, “Hamas has re-established itself” throughout the 47 per cent of Gaza not controlled by Israeli forces and the Israeli government has accused Hamas of “making a mockery” of the US President’s peace plan.

Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say implementation of the second phase of the US-brokered plan is close (phase one was the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners). But moving to that second phase – establishing a governing body for Gaza and reconstruction of the territory – is unlikely to be realistic without Hamas disarming and accepting point 13 of the agreement: that Hamas and other factions will have “no role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly or in any form”. It also requires “All military, terror and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarisation of Gaza under supervision of independent monitors, which will include … decommissioning.” There is no sign, however, of Hamas making good on that commitment. Mashaal said Hamas “has no intention of disarming, giving up its weapons, its rule, or its path”. He also rejected any form of external oversight in Gaza, including the idea of an international stabilisation force – a direct contradiction of core terms of the plan.

Ahead of a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu after Christmas, Israeli officials are concerned about a scenario that leaves the terror group with access to its guns. That includes a proposal by Hamas supporters Turkey and Qatar – and said to be increasingly acceptable to the White House – that “decommissioning” Hamas’s weapons take place across a long period. Turkey and Qatar have suggested following the example of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in which IRA weapons were “stored” or “frozen” until they were finally “rendered inoperable” and disposed of in 2005. Something more effective is needed in Gaza than what appears to be an attempt by Qatar and Turkey to save face for the terrorists and avoid them having to admit they have been defeated. The need to get the peace deal back on track is urgent. Research published by The Wall Street Journal shows the gargantuan task of Gaza’s reconstruction, with 68 million tonnes of rubble – equivalent to 162 Golden Gate Bridges or 186 Empire State Buildings – from the 123,000 buildings that were destroyed. That was four out of five structures in the enclave. The plight of Gaza’s two million people remains dire.