Hamas said on Saturday it was willing to hand over weapons in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority, which rules the area, on the condition that the Israeli military occupation ends, Agence France-Presse reported on Saturday.
“Our weapons are connected to the existence of occupation and aggression,” Khalil al-Haya, Hamas’s chief negotiator and ruler of the Gaza Strip, said in a statement, adding: “Once the occupation ends, these weapons will come under the authority of the state.” In response to questions from AFP, Haiya’s bureau said he was referring to a sovereign and independent Palestinian state.
“We accept the deployment of United Nations forces as a detached force tasked with monitoring the border and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Haya added, pointing to the group’s refusal to send international forces to the Gaza Strip with a mission of disarmament.
Although the ceasefire halted heavy fighting in the two-year war, Gaza health officials said Israel has killed more than 360 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.