Hamas said Saturday it will keep its weapons until an “independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital” is created, flatly rejecting Israel’s core demand for ending the Gaza war.
The statement follows the collapse last week of indirect Israel-Hamas talks, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, aimed at securing a 60-day cease-fire and a hostage-exchange deal. Mediators later endorsed a Franco-Saudi road-map that links reconstruction and a two-state political process to Hamas’s hand-over of its arsenal to the West-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).
Hamas—which has governed Gaza since 2007 but suffered heavy battlefield losses since 7 October—insisted that “armed resistance” remains non-negotiable without a recognized Palestinian state.
Israel maintains disarmament is a precondition for any deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly branded a Palestinian state “a platform to destroy Israel,” vowing to retain overall security control of Palestinian territories. Israel’s Knesset has likewise approved a resolution opposing a two-state outcome.
Netanyahu also lashed out at countries such as Britain and Canada for moving toward recognition of Palestinian statehood, calling it “a reward for Hamas”—a charge London denies.
War toll
- Israeli casualties: 1,200 people killed and 251 abducted during the 7 October assault.
- Palestinian casualties: More than 60,000 killed in Israel’s air-and-ground offensive, according to Gaza’s health authorities; vast areas lie in ruins and the UN warns of man-made famine.
The latest round of diplomacy foundered over key sticking points, including the pace of an Israeli troop pull-out and guarantees that the cease-fire would evolve into a permanent truce. Each side blamed the other for the deadlock.