Disarm Or Else, Hamas As The Worst Can Happen

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the second phase of the ceasefire plan is imminent, but he remains skeptical about its implementation, while a senior Hamas official has indicated a willingness to discuss laying down weapons as part of a comprehensive deal. 

Second Phase Imminent: Netanyahu stated on Sunday, December 7, 2025, that Israel and Hamas are "very shortly expected to move into the second phase of the ceasefire"

As of Wednesday, December 10, 2025, Donald Trump continues to warn that Hamas must disarm or face military action, while Hamas officials are publicly stating they will not lay down their weapons and are accusing Israel of violating the current ceasefire. (It never fails;  whenever Hamas commits a crime upon Israel, they turn around and accuse Israel of doing it to them. )

            Ah Ha!  20 Point Peace Plan

Disarmament Warning: Trump has issued a "last warning" to Hamas, stating that they will be disarmed "quickly and perhaps violently" by the U.S. if the group does not voluntarily give up its weapons as required by his 20-point peace plan.

• Netanyahu  emphasized that a key condition for the second phase is the disarming and demilitarization of Hamas, a challenging step he warned could be done "the hard way or we can do this the easy way". Israel has threatened to resume military operations if conditions are not met.

• Ceasefire Enforcement: Trump has repeatedly said that if Hamas does not hold up its end of the deal, he might allow Israel to resume fighting, telling a news outlet that the war would restart “as soon as I say the word”.
• Meeting with Trump: Netanyahu plans to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump later this month to discuss the implementation of the second phase and "unresolved issues".
• "Peace" Declaration: Following the initial ceasefire agreement in October 2025, Trump declared, "At long last we have peace in the Middle East".
• Meeting Netanyahu: Trump is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this month to discuss the challenging "phase two" of the peace plan, which primarily deals with Hamas's disarmament and Gaza's post-war governance
• Post-War Vision: Netanyahu has long maintained that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and has repeatedly stated Israel seeks "total victory" over the group, vowing "there will be no Hamas" in post-war Gaza. 
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    Khaled Meshal, 69 years old, Khaled Mashal  born 28 May 1956) is a Palestinian politician who served as the second chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from 1996 until May 2017, when he was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh.   joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1971.

  Mashal enrolled in Kuwait University in 1974, and soon became involved in student politics. He headed the Islamic Justice list (qa'imat al-haq al-islamiyya) in the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) elections in 1977. The list was based on the Palestinian Islamic movement, a part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hamas's Latest Comments and Stance

• Refusal to Disarm: Top Hamas officials, including Khaled Meshaal, have explicitly rejected calls for disarmament, stating that protecting the "resistance's weapons is our people's right to self-defense". (I believe they have lost that right a long time ago, and should have done so before October 7, 2023.  
• Willingness to Disarm: In a potentially significant shift, a senior Hamas official told the Associated Press on Sunday that the group is ready to discuss "freezing or storing or laying down" its weapons as part of a potential approach to one of the conflict's most difficult issues. 
• Conditions: Hamas, however, has stated it would not accept an international force having "any kind of mandates" on Palestinian territory as proposed in the second phase of the U.S. plan. (They already signed the 20 point plan.  It's too late to now bring up something they don't like !  That's because they never thought of another county guarding them.)
• Accusations of Violations: Hamas leaders have stated that the next phase of the ceasefire cannot begin as long as Israel continues its violations of the agreement. They have urged international mediators to pressure Israel to fully implement the first phase.
• Governing Authority: Hamas has also rejected the idea of a non-Palestinian governing authority for Gaza, pushing back against proposals for an international stabilization force or "board of peace".

                                            

                                Ran Gvili, now a dead hostage

Talik Gvili, the mother of Ran Gvili, the last hostage whose remains Israeli is still waiting to receive from Hamas, posted a photo of him on her Facebook page recently, in which she wrote:  The first one to head out, the last one to come back. ❤️🎗️ We won’t stop until you’re home. Share this. 🙏

• Accusations: Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire and stalling the process of returning the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, by claiming the remains are buried under rubble.  (How would Israel know where in the *(&^% he is buried!  It's Hamas terrorists who took him and probably tortured him if he were taken alive and  are the ones who created hostages in the first place !
• Internal Contradictions: There have been some conflicting messages within Hamas, with one senior official, Bassem Naim, floating the possibility of "freezing or storing" weapons during a long-term truce, though this appears to be a minority position. 
• The transition to phase two hinges on the return of the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, which would mark the completion of phase one. While both sides express a desire to move forward, significant disagreements remain over the critical issue of Hamas's disarmament and the role of an international force in Gaza.