Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: Revised Palestinian proposal addresses Gaza weapons dismantling

"Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" published a revised Palestinian proposal for implementing the weapons clause in Gaza. The proposal calls for the gradual collection and storage of weapons instead of surrendering them, and the process would be carried out alongside the Israel Defense Forces' withdrawal from the Strip. Hamas is waiting in Cairo for Israel and the United States to respond to the new formula.

Palestinians reached an understanding this morning, Thursday, with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey on amendments to the roadmap for implementing the ceasefire agreement. The changes focus on the disputed eighth clause, which deals with the issue of Hamas's weapons and those of the other organizations in the Gaza Strip. The revised proposal was drafted during talks held in Egypt in recent days, after the indirect negotiations stalled and prevented progress in implementing the agreement announced last October.

According to the version obtained by the newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, there will be a "gradual and phased implementation of a process of collecting and storing weapons according to a defined timetable." The process will be carried out alongside Israel's withdrawal from the areas it controls in the Strip, and while the first phase of the ceasefire agreement is completed in all its aspects. The first phase includes full implementation of the humanitarian protocol, the cessation of attacks, and compliance with the commitment to withdraw IDF forces. Implementation will proceed in parallel with the entry of the "national committee" into its roles, the deployment of an international stabilization force, and the dismantling of armed militias.

The amendment is an attempt by the Palestinians to redefine the weapons issue from the perspective of "collection and storage" rather than "handover," within an internal Palestinian framework.

The implementation process will be carried out by a Palestinian committee, with international assistance.