A few hours after the official end of the war in the Gaza Strip was celebrated thanks to a ceasefire agreement promoted by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, Hamas showed signs of delaying some of the key points of the plan.
A senior official of the group, Hazem Qassem, stated on Monday that the organization is not obligated to comply with all the terms of the agreement, especially those that require the disarmament of its forces and the transfer of control of the coastal enclave.
"We do not need to limit ourselves to Israeli definitions regarding weapons," Qassem declared to Al-Arabiya channel. "We will not be hostages to the conditions or demands of Israel. This will be one of the central points of struggle in the next stage, after the cessation of aggression in the Gaza Strip," he added.
These statements raised some questions about the future of the 20-point peace plan achieved by Trump, which was widely praised internationally for securing the release of the 20 hostages who remained alive and establishing a framework for the governance of Gaza once Hamas relinquished power. However, the details about when and how that transfer of power will take place have not yet been agreed upon.
The plan contemplates the formation of an administrative government led by Palestinian technocrats, with participation from the Palestinian Authority (PA) based in the West Bank. Hamas has said it is willing to accept this proposal in principle, although without committing to a complete withdrawal from the political and administrative landscape of the enclave.
Qassem suggested that Hamas should continue to have some kind of role within Gaza's "administrative arrangements", although he did not specify to what extent or under what conditions.
