Comment by US official on amnesty for Hamas members is seen as a ‘significant step’, as focus moves to next stage of Gaza ceasefire.
Disarmament by Hamas in Gaza will be accompanied by “some sort of amnesty” for the Palestinian group, a United States official has said.
The US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity on Monday, made the comment after the body of the last Israeli captive in Gaza was recovered, a move that paves the way towards the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal agreed upon in October.
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“We are listening to many of their people talk about disarming. We think they’re going to. If they don’t disarm, then they’ve breached the deal. We think disarmament comes along with some sort of amnesty, and candidly, we think we have a very, very good programme to disarm,” the official said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington, DC, said the official made the comment during a background briefing by senior officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration and reporters.
“A senior administration official told reporters that Hamas agreed to disarmament and that it will happen,” Jordan said.
“The same official also alluded to the fact – when the question was raised about whether Hamas could be recognised as a political entity in exchange for [dis]armament – the official said the possibility of amnesty for those Hamas fighters who lay down their weapons was part of the discussion,” Jordan said.
“But the official didn’t get into any more details. Even so, the fact that that was put out there for reporters to discuss publicly is a significant step,” she said.
“How long is it going to take to work out these terms? Well, it certainly depends on what the Israelis, the Americans , their various interlocutors – the Qataris, the Turkish, the Egyptians – what they are all able to bring to the table with Hamas in order to get this figured out. But some sort of amnesty has now been publicly floated,” she added.
On Monday, Israel confirmed that the remains of the last captive held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, had been positively identified and that all those held in the war-torn Palestinian territory “have now been repatriated”.
Hamas said on Monday the return of remains of captives underscored its commitment to phase one of the ceasefire agreement, and that it had “fulfilled all its obligations in a clear and responsible manner”.
Israel must now hold up its side of the ceasefire deal “without any deduction or delay”.
“Especially the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions without restrictions, the entry of the Gaza Strip’s needs in the required quantities, the lifting of the ban on any of them, the complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and facilitating the work of the National Committee for the management of the Gaza Strip,” the group said.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan states that once all captives are returned, Hamas members who decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage under the plan. The plan also states that aid must flow “freely” into the enclave, and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt is to be reopened.
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met Hamas officials in Ankara on Monday and discussed the second phase of the ceasefire agreement and humanitarian conditions in the enclave, a ministry source told Reuters.
The minister briefed the Hamas officials about Turkiye’s efforts in international platforms, including Trump’s Board of Peace, to protect the rights of Palestinians in Gaza, the source added.
Turkiye’s official Anadolu news agency reported that Fidan said efforts to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza “would continue with determination”.
