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Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/hyjaludubl
How to Achieve Hamas's Disarmament and Gaza's Demilitarization
(Ynet News) Tzachi Hanegbi - As the U.S. launches the second stage of the Trump plan, the core of the president's vision is turning Gaza into an area free of terrorist activity. After the proven ability of President Trump and his team to extract the hostages from Hamas tunnels "against all odds," Israel is right to grant the U.S. president room to operate. There is a need to coordinate with the White House a detailed timetable for Hamas's disarmament and for the demilitarization of Gaza. Disarmament means the transfer of all weapons held by Hamas and smaller organizations to a body agreed upon by the U.S. and Israel and their removal from Gaza. This includes all components related to rocket arrays, all anti-tank weapons, all explosives and materials that are part of their production process, and all small arms. Demilitarizing Gaza means destruction of military infrastructure, including an extensive tunnel network, most of which is still operational, and weapons production facilities, now concentrated mainly in areas where the IDF did not operate systematically, such as the central camps. Reconstruction for Gaza's residents should take place only in areas under IDF control. Only there will construction materials be brought in, rubble cleared, and temporary housing installed. In areas under Hamas control, reconstruction will not begin as long as the condition requiring the removal of all weapons from the area has not been fulfilled. The IDF has for some time been formulating operational plans to achieve the war's unfulfilled objectives: the destruction of the military and governing capabilities of the terrorist organizations to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israeli citizens. If Trump's vision is realized, as it was with the hostages, the gain is entirely ours. And if Hamas undermines Trump, the decision of when and how to act rests entirely in our hands. The writer served as Israel's National Security Advisor from 2023 to 2025.