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Hamas has dismissed reports that it expressed willingness to disarm during Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Israel, affirming its "national and legal" right to resistance against Israeli occupation, Al Jazeera reported.
The Palestinian group issued a statement on Saturday in response to comments allegedly made by United States President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, during a meeting with relatives of Israeli captives held in Gaza. Citing a recording of the conversation, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported that the US envoy told the families Hamas was "prepared to be demilitarised." However, Hamas firmly denied the claim. In its statement, Hamas said, "The resistance and its weapons are a national and legal right as long as the [Israeli] occupation persists." It added that this right "cannot be relinquished until our full national rights are restored, foremost among them the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," according to Al Jazeera. Witkoff had met the families in Tel Aviv on Saturday, a day after visiting a US and Israeli-backed aid distribution site in Gaza run by the controversial GHF group. Hamas previously criticised the envoy's visit as a "staged show" intended to mislead the public about conditions in the enclave, Al Jazeera reported. The group pointed to worsening humanitarian conditions, highlighting a United Nations report stating that more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to access food at GHF-run sites since the organisation began operating in Gaza in May. Despite growing international criticism of the group's operations, the Trump administration has stood firmly behind GHF. In June, Washington announced $30 million in funding support for the organisation, Al Jazeera reported. Witkoff's remarks on disarmament come amid intensifying global efforts to push for recognition of a Palestinian state, as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues. At a two-day United Nations conference in New York this week, the United Kingdom said it may follow France in recognising a Palestinian state in September if Israel does not implement a ceasefire. Echoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer's earlier stance, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK would proceed with recognition under specific conditions. The UN meeting also saw 17 countries, along with the European Union and the Arab League, endorse a seven-page document supporting a two-state solution. The text called on Hamas to "end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State," Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)
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