US official: Hamas figures say ‘they want peace,’ are signaling ‘real possibility’ of disarmament

A US official briefing reporters acknowledges that Israel is heavily skeptical that Hamas will disarm, but he insists that the terror group has indicated that it is prepared to do so.

“The goal here is to create the alternative to Hamas that wants peace and to figure out how to empower them,” the US official says of the Palestinian technocratic committee for Gaza that was launched on Wednesday.

“We will be engaging in conversations with Hamas on the next phase, which is demilitarization and [we will be engaging] with Israel on what amnesty program can be given to Hamas [fighters] if they do this,” the US official says.

“There’s clearly not a lot of trust between both sides after decades of conflict, but… believe that there is a good chance that everyone will try to keep their word in the agreement, and we will be able to move things forward,” the US official says.

The official claims Hamas officials “are indicating that there’s a real possibility that [demilitarization] will happen, so we’re pushing very hard to make it happen.”

“We’ve talked to a number of Hamas people, and we’re hearing throughout the Arab world that people don’t want to be at war anymore. They want peace. They want a better economic future for their families. They want credible homes,” says a second US official on the briefing. “They want what everybody else in this world wants — just a good life, and a good life doesn’t occur through military means.”

Offering some more detail on what demilitarization might look like, the first senior US official says all terror infrastructure in Gaza will be destroyed and “heavy weaponry, like RPGs, rocket launchers and missiles” will “need to be put into a place where they’re not being used.”

He notably made no mention of light weapons, which Israel is also insisting be part of the disarmament program, arguing that AK-47s are what Hamas uses to maintain its control of Gazans in the Strip.

“Gaza needs to have basic policing so that they can keep control of their populations. People should be able to make sure that it’s a place free of crime, where people can live freely and safely,” the US official says.

The US has been in talks with Mideast mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have assured Washington that Hamas will agree to a gradual disarmament plan that would begin with the terror group giving up its heavy weaponry and the launch of a “buy-back” program for lighter weapons, according to the US official and two Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel last week, who said the goal is to begin implementing the program in the coming weeks.

It was not clear whether this framework will be sufficient for Israel. Hamas officials have publicly asserted that the organization will only agree to give up its weapons in a negotiated process that results in the establishment of a Palestinian state.