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Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22230/gaza-colonization-council-hamas
Hamas's Actual Position on Disarmament, Trump's Board of Peace
(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Hamas is clearly unfazed by President Trump's repeated demands that it must give up its weapons. It maintains that Israel is the one that needs to be disarmed. Hamas and many Palestinians also have significant reservations about Trump's Board of Peace. They view it as a "new round of colonization" in the Middle East by the U.S. and other Western powers. Hamas may put on a show by handing over some of its light weapons to impress Trump and his Board of Peace. However, it will never surrender all its weapons, especially the thousands of rockets it manufactured and stockpiled over the past two decades. Hamas knows that the moment it loses all its weapons, it will cease to exist both as a political and military entity. It needs the weapons to maintain control over the residents of Gaza and protect its future viability against its political rivals, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as the Palestinian Authority. Hamas, meanwhile, appears satisfied with Trump's decision to allow Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to play a role in the future management of Gaza. The participation of Arab and Islamic countries "that have clear positions in support of the Palestinian cause can be viewed positively," said Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza.