Khalil al-Haya, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, announced the terms of the campaign regarding the surrender of arms to the government associated with the Palestinian state.
Al-Haya stressed that Hamas would only hand over its weapons if the Israeli occupation ended.
He added that in such a case, Hamas would be prepared to hand over weapons to the government (under the sovereignty of the Palestinian state) that would control the Gaza Strip in the future.
“The presence of our weapons is tied to the presence of the occupiers, and when this situation ends, we will hand over our weapons to the Palestinian state,” Al-Haya said.
His office clarified to Agence France-Presse that his “government” meant the Palestinian state.
He said the arms issue was still being discussed with Palestinian factions and mediators, and that Hamas had agreed that international forces would act as border security and oversee the cease-fire agreement.
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