A senior Hamas leader declared that surrendering weapons would “criminalize the resistance” and vowed Gaza would never accept “foreign rule,” openly defying President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace framework as Phase Two of the U.S.-brokered plan moves toward implementation.
Speaking Sunday at the 17th Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Khaled Mashaal — the terror group’s former chief and current head of its diaspora office — flatly rejected the core requirement of Trump’s Gaza plan: disarmament tied to reconstruction and international oversight.
Mashaal praised the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, arguing that the attack had thrust what he called the “Palestinian cause” back onto the global stage and reaffirmed the movement’s embrace of “resistance.”
He said Palestinians “take pride” in that “resistance,” using the term as a justification for continued violence against Israelis and as a rationale for preserving Hamas’s weapons.
Mashaal urged supporters to “pursue Israel” diplomatically and politically, calling for the Jewish state to be branded a pariah that is “losing its international legitimacy,” pointing to what he described as growing shifts within Western elites, universities, and social media discourse.
The Doha-based terror leader also praised Qatar’s role, describing the country’s backing of the Palestinian cause as “honorable.”
Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and other governments, and Mashaal is wanted in the U.S. on terrorism, murder-conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges connected to his role in planning the Oct. 7 attacks.
“Criminalizing the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept,” Mashaal charged, insisting that armed “resistance” remains legitimate “as long as there is occupation.”
Mashaal framed Hamas’s arsenal as non-negotiable, arguing that any demand to dismantle it amounts to stripping Palestinians of their identity and defense, even as Hamas has publicly endorsed the broader ceasefire framework advancing toward its second phase.
Instead of disarmament, Mashaal promoted a long-term truce with Israel — ranging from five to ten years — under which Hamas would merely pledge not to use its weapons, with mediators such as Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey serving as guarantors.
“This is a guarantee that these weapons are not used,” he said, stopping well short of any commitment to dismantle or hand over the terror group’s military infrastructure.
Mashaal also warned against international governance mechanisms envisioned under Trump’s plan, rejecting any outside administration or stabilization force in Gaza.
“We adhere to our national principles and reject the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or the return of a mandate in any form,” he said. “Palestinians are to govern Palestinians. Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza and to Palestine. We will not accept foreign rule.”
The remarks come as Phase Two of Trump’s 20-point Gaza framework — which explicitly mandates Hamas’s disarmament and removal from power — is set to begin, with the White House planning a major event next week to advance the next stage.
Trump has repeatedly said Hamas agreed to lay down its arms as part of the deal and has warned the group that failure to do so would carry severe consequences.
“If they don’t do it, they’ll be blown away very quickly,” Trump said last month while unveiling the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Mashaal’s defiance echoes his December speech in Istanbul, when he declared that “the resistance and its weapons are our honor and glory,” openly mocking the disarmament provisions even as Hamas continued participating in ceasefire negotiations.
Other senior Hamas figures have issued similar denials. In January, Musa Abu Marzouk said the terror group “never, for a single moment,” agreed to surrender its weapons, despite U.S. assertions to the contrary.
Trump’s framework ties Gaza’s reconstruction to verified demilitarization, with an International Stabilization Force and a Palestinian technocratic committee slated to take over governance once Hamas’s arsenal is dismantled and terror infrastructure destroyed.
Israeli officials have warned that if Hamas refuses to disarm, military operations could resume, while reconstruction and aid would proceed only in terror-free zones.
Mashaal’s latest remarks — delivered at a forum Israel’s Foreign Ministry has condemned as a platform for extremists — underscore the widening gap between Hamas’s public posture and the conditions underpinning the ceasefire now entering its most consequential phase.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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