Hamas is divided on whether to move forward with US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza and return the remaining 48 hostages, Arab officials involved in mediation attempts told the Wall Street Journal on Friday.
One of the main causes of the rift is that Hamas is divided on disarming and under what conditions to let the hostages go, according to the officials.
Khalil Al-Hayya and several other senior Hamas political officials reportedly support the US deal, but Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip are reportedly less eager to see the war end on Trump’s terms.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas's Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, reportedly told mediators that he would be open to compromise and is willing to give rockets and offensive weaponry to Egypt and the UN. However, he allegedly sought for Hamas to retain some arms, like assault rifles, arguing that these weapons are defensive.
Complicating the situation further, Hamas commanders are reportedly unsure they would be able to enforce the disarmament as the terrorists they oversee will likely be unwilling to hand over their weapons, according to the mediators.
On the issue of the hostages, Hamas officials have insisted the US’s 72-hour deadline was unrealistic to return all 48 captives.
Critics within Hamas have argued that the proposal is more of “a 72-hour truce” rather than a genuine peace agreement. Hamas also insists that the release of hostages must come in time with Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas buying time
The resistance to the Trump proposal seems a far cry from the initial response Hamas gave on Friday, though Israeli and Arab experts reportedly suspect that Hamas only gave such a response to buy themselves time.
While the terror group has successfully recruited waves of new fighters after its terrorists were killed during the war, many remain untrained, and Israeli operations have prevented communication and cooperation for new attacks.
“This is why these negotiations are starting to become real. Maybe it’s the first time throughout the war that Hamas is starting to understand that they will be eradicated,” said Amir Avivi, a former senior Israeli defense official.
To adapt to the restricted communication, Arab and Israeli mediators said Hamas was now working in smaller units, which often act independently and so would not necessarily fall in line with the decisions of Hamas leadership. The leadership’s control has also waned as the terror group lacked the funds to pay salaries to its personnel.
With Hamas’s loosening grip, many terrorists are realigning themselves with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terror groups, according to the report.