Report: Dispute Between Tel Aviv and Washington Over Mechanism to Deal with Hamas's Weapons

SadaNews - Israel sees the crucial condition in the second phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to stop the war in Gaza as the disarmament of Hamas within a short time frame of no more than a few months, threatening to return to military operations if this does not happen.

This issue is set to be the focus of the anticipated meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of this month, where Netanyahu will also meet with Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

Netanyahu confirmed that the international force intended to be deployed in Gaza would not be able to fulfill the primary mission of disarming Hamas, pointing out that this issue will be resolved during his meeting with Trump. Israeli estimates indicate that any failure in this regard would push Tel Aviv to resume military incursions into the sector under the pretext of achieving the disarmament goal.

In contrast, the US administration is proposing a different formula that involves taking Hamas's weapons out of service and storing them (Decommission), while Israel considers this procedure insufficient for complete disarmament, describing it as merely a maneuver.

Israel also strongly opposes any Turkish presence in Gaza, while some US officials, including envoy Tom Barak, believe that Turkey's participation is essential to the solution, which Israel sees as a disregard for its interests.

So far, the planned international force has not been formed, as candidate Arab and Muslim countries refuse to send troops or commit to the task of disarming Hamas. Israel emphasizes that reconstruction in Gaza can begin in parallel with the disarmament process, likening it to the situation in Lebanon, where civil files do not replace the need to address the security aspects related to Hezbollah.

Additionally, Netanyahu intends to present information to Trump indicating that Iran is working to reactivate its nuclear program and develop ballistic missiles, stressing that the current US sanctions are insufficient and calling for them to be tightened.