Hamas says it will only hand over weapons to Palestinian state at end of ‘occupation’

Hamas says it is ready to hand over its weapons in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian authority governing the territory on the condition that the Israeli army’s military control of Palestinian territories ends.

“Our weapons are linked to the existence of the occupation and the aggression,” Hamas chief negotiator and its Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya says in a statement, adding: “If the occupation ends, these weapons will be placed under the authority of the state.” Asked by AFP, Hayya’s bureau says he was referring to a sovereign and independent Palestinian state.

“We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Hayya adds, signalling his terror group’s rejection of the deployment of an international force in the Strip whose mission would be to disarm it.

In the past, Hayya has said that a two-state solution would be only temporary and that the Palestinians retain their “historic right to all Palestinian lands.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are overwhelmingly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured during the Six Day War in June 1967.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.