{"id":132792,"date":"2026-08-18T14:28:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/?p=132792"},"modified":"2026-08-18T14:28:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:28:44","slug":"gaza-between-hamas-disarmament-and-israeli-withdrawal-where-is-the-deal-stalling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/gaza-between-hamas-disarmament-and-israeli-withdrawal-where-is-the-deal-stalling\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza Between Hamas Disarmament and Israeli Withdrawal.. Where Is the Deal Stalling?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Second Phase of the Gaza Agreement.. Disarmament and Withdrawal Face a New Test<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The second phase of the Gaza agreement has entered a more complicated stage, amid growing disagreement over whether the disarmament of Hamas represents a key condition for moving to the next steps, or whether it is becoming an Israeli justification for delaying the withdrawal from the Strip.<\/p>\n

Speaking to \u00abThe Newsroom\u00bb on Sky News Arabia, political researcher \u201cMunir Al-Jaghoub\u201d and Israeli affairs expert \u201cNael Al-Zoubi\u201d presented differing assessments of the course of the agreement, focusing on the issues of weapons and withdrawal, as well as the political calculations shaping the positions of Israeli Prime Minister \u201cBenjamin Netanyahu\u201d, particularly as electoral deadlines approach.<\/p>\n

Disarmament.. A Condition for Progress or an Excuse for Delay?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cAl-Zoubi\u201d believes that current developments are bringing the negotiations back to the core of the crisis that emerged since the October 7 attack, considering that achieving genuine progress in Gaza requires ending Hamas\u2019s military power and disarming it.<\/p>\n

He stresses the need to distinguish between announcing approval of disarmament and actually implementing it and establishing mechanisms to monitor compliance. In his view, the process should begin with a clear declaration by the movement, followed by the actual dismantling of its weapons, and then subjecting the process to monitoring and verification. Once these steps are completed, Al-Zoubi asserts that Israel will have no reason to remain in the Strip because, in his assessment, it does not seek to maintain a permanent military or governing presence there.<\/p>\n

In contrast, \u201cAl-Jaghoub\u201d believes that Hamas has already presented a clear position during its direct meeting with \u201cJared Kushner\u201d, the U.S. president\u2019s envoy, and pledged to disarm. He points to the presence of mediators from T\u00fcrkiye and Qatar, as well as other guarantors, making continued stalling in implementing the understandings difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cAl-Jaghoub\u201d says that the movement has tentatively agreed to hand over its weapons and refrain from storing them, as the situation inside the Strip has reached a stage that is pushing various parties to seek a practical formula to end the crisis.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s Calculations and the Israeli Elections<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cAl-Jaghoub\u201d places the Israeli elections at the forefront of the factors influencing \u201cNetanyahu\u2019s\u201d calculations, noting that the negotiations coincide with internal elections within the Likud Party to select its candidates for the Knesset elections.<\/p>\n

He believes that any move toward withdrawing from Gaza or retreating beyond the \u00abYellow Line\u00bb could be considered a political loss for \u201cNetanyahu\u201d, making his positions on withdrawal, Hamas\u2019s disarmament, and the future of the Strip largely tied to the electoral competition.<\/p>\n

He adds that the regional and international landscape is also affected by other issues, including U.S.-Iranian tensions and the war in Ukraine, developments that he believes are absorbing part of the international attention at the expense of the Palestinian cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cAl-Jaghoub\u201d points to a meeting that, according to him, lasted for hours, considering that its most significant outcome was Hamas\u2019s clear approval of what was proposed regarding handing over weapons and refraining from storing them.<\/p>\n

However, \u201cAl-Zoubi\u201d rejects reducing the Israeli position to electoral calculations, explaining that officials from the Israeli security establishment participated in the meeting with \u201cKushner\u201d. In this context, he raises the question of how ready any Israeli candidate, whether \u201cGadi Eisenkot\u201d or \u201cYair Lapid\u201d, would be to accept Hamas\u2019s return to the scene.<\/p>\n

A Broader Dispute Over the Future of Gaza<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cAl-Jaghoub\u201d believes that \u201cNetanyahu\u201d does not want to withdraw from the Strip, but seeks, in his assessment, to restore settlements and displace Palestinians, considering that the Israeli prime minister may continue to reject the agreement even if Hamas hands over its weapons to the committee affiliated with the \u00abBoard of Peace\u00bb.<\/p>\n

He believes that focusing on the issue of weapons provides \u201cNetanyahu\u201d with room for delay until the elections are over, while Hamas, in his assessment, has exhausted most of its negotiating cards and put what it has on the negotiating table.<\/p>\n

In contrast, \u201cAl-Zoubi\u201d emphasizes that Israel does not want to remain in Gaza militarily or administratively, and that the demand for disarmament targets the movement rather than the residents of the Strip. He also says that Israel does not oppose the reconstruction of Gaza and the development of its infrastructure, but wants to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas, amid the continued impact of the October 7 attack on its security calculations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAl-Zoubi\u201d calls on the movement to make a clear declaration regarding the dismantling of its weapons and to place it within a specific timetable and implementation mechanism, considering that this step has not yet been achieved.<\/p>\n

While \u201cAl-Jaghoub\u201d believes that the issue of weapons could become a tool for delaying the withdrawal, \u201cAl-Zoubi\u201d maintains that it is the primary gateway to implementing the agreement, leaving the second phase suspended on moving from commitments to practical steps and resolving the dispute over disarmament, withdrawal, and the future of the Israeli presence in Gaza.<\/p>\n

United News Network \u2013 UNN Arabic<\/strong><\/p>\n

An independent media platform that provides reliable news and objective analysis, and seeks to promote peace and cultural dialogue around the world, to convey the truth and build bridges of understanding among peoples.<\/p>\n

For more news, you can visit our homepage:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/un-news.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Author\u2019s Name:<\/strong> Consultant Faisal Al-Mutairi.<\/p>\n

Publication Date:<\/strong> August 18, 2026.<\/p>\n

Updated:<\/strong> August 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Second Phase of the Gaza Agreement.. Disarmament and Withdrawal Face a New Test The second phase of the Gaza agreement has entered a more complicated stage, amid growing disagreement over whether the disarmament of Hamas represents a key condition for moving to the next steps, or whether it is becoming an Israeli justification for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"tmauthors":[74],"class_list":{"0":"post-132792","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132792"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132794,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132792\/revisions\/132794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132792"},{"taxonomy":"tmauthors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tmauthors?post=132792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}