Hamas chief declares: We will never disarm, never give up control of Gaza

Co-chairman of Hamas’ politburo directly contradicts US-backed Gaza peace plan during televised speech to supporters in Turkey, vowing to never cede control of Gaza to international forces and defending Hamas retaining its arsenal.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

A senior Hamas official over the weekend publicly denounced key provisions in the US-backed Gaza peace plan, explicitly rejecting calls for the terror group to disarm and cede control over the Gaza Strip to international peacekeepers.

On Saturday, Khaled Mashal, the longest-serving chairman of the Hamas politburo, who returned as co-chairman last year following the assassination of Yahya Sinwar, addressed a gathering of supporters in Istanbul at a conference entitled “Pledge to Jerusalem” with a televised message.

During his video message, Mashal vowed to Hamas backers that the terror group would never surrender its arsenal.

“Protecting the resistance project and the resistance’s weapons is our people’s right to defend itself,” Mashal said.

“The resistance and its weapons are the honor and pride of the nation.”

Mashal also rejected calls for Hamas to transfer control of Gaza to an international security force mandated by the United Nations.

Along with the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, the ceding of Gaza to the international stabilization force is a key provision in the Trump administration’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.

Later on Saturday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry published a video clip of Mashal’s televised address, citing it as further proof the terror group is not committed to implementing Phase Two of the Gaza peace plan.

“Hamas is making a mockery of President Trump’s peace plan,” the Foreign Ministry wrote on X. “In a public address today in Istanbul, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal declared that 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 force. A direct contradiction of the core terms of the peace plan itself.”