{"id":637,"date":"2026-02-08T10:51:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T10:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/?p=637"},"modified":"2026-02-08T10:51:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T10:51:16","slug":"hamas-leader-rejects-disarmament-while-israeli-occupation-of-gaza-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/?p=637","title":{"rendered":"Hamas leader rejects disarmament while Israeli occupation of Gaza continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hamas leader rejects disarmament while Israeli occupation of Gaza continues<\/h1>\n

Speaking at Al Jazeera Forum, Khaled Meshaal describes discussion around Hamas handing over weapons as a continuation of a long effort to neutralise Palestinian armed resistance.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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Head of Hamas abroad says ‘resistance is a right’ for occupied people<\/p>\n

<\/a>By <\/span>Al Jazeera Staff<\/a>Published On 8 Feb 2026<\/span>8 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hamas\u2019s political leader abroad, Khaled Meshaal, has rejected calls to disarm Palestinian factions in Gaza, arguing that stripping weapons from an occupied people would turn them into \u201can easy victim to be eliminated\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the second day of the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha on Sunday, Meshaal described the discussion around Hamas handing over its weapons<\/a> as a continuation of a century-long effort to neutralise Palestinian armed resistance.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the context that the occupation is still on, talk about disarmament will turn our people into a victim that can be easily preyed on by Israel, which is armed with all international weaponry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to talk about it \u2026 it is necessary to provide an environment that allows reconstruction and relief and ensures that the war does not reignite between Gaza and the Zionist entity. This is a logical approach, and Hamas \u2014 through mediators Qatar, Turkiye and Egypt, and through indirect dialogues with the Americans via the mediators \u2014 has reached, or there has been, an understanding of Hamas\u2019s vision on that. Yes, this is something that requires great effort, not an approach of disarmament.\u201d<\/p>\n

United States President Donald Trump last month sought to achieve a \u201ccomprehensive\u201d demilitarisation of Hamas, threatening the Palestinian group with repercussions if it fails to do so. Hamas has refused to give up arms as long as Israel continues to occupy Gaza.<\/p>\n

In the second phase of a US-mediated \u201cceasefire\u201d deal between Israel and Hamas, agreed in October last year, Washington says it will tackle the disarmament of Hamas and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.<\/p>\n

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But Israel continues to carry out near-daily deadly attacks across Gaza in violation of the \u201cceasefire\u201d<\/a> and has so far refused to withdraw from the so-called \u201cYellow Line\u201d in eastern Gaza, an informal boundary separating more than half of the territory that remains under Israeli military control from the rest of the Strip. Israel has killed at least 576 Palestinians and wounded 1,543 others since the latest \u201cceasefire\u201d started.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is not that Hamas and the resistance forces in Gaza provide guarantees; the problem is Israel, which wants to take the Palestinian weapons \u2026 and put them in the hands of militias to create chaos,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Meshaal pointed to Hamas\u2019s proposals for an extended calm as an alternative to dismantling its military wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHamas proposed a truce of five to seven to 10 years. This is a guarantee that these weapons are not used,\u201d he said, adding that the mediating nations, who have a \u201cdeep relationship with Hamas, can form a guarantee\u201d.<\/p>\n

Meshaal pointed out that if people were to go back to the origin of the conflict, the issue is one of \u201coccupation and a people resisting occupation, with the right to self-determination and independence\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cResistance is a right for people under occupation; it is part of international law and the heavenly religions. Resistance is part of the memory of nations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u2018Palestinian cause must have a solution\u2019<\/h2>\n

Meshaal said the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel was a \u201cturning point\u201d, arguing that the Gaza conflict forced the world to reopen a \u201csecond question\u201d of the Palestinian cause itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [Operation Al-Aqsa] Flood and this genocidal war have shaken the world. There is now a question \u2013 the Palestinian cause must have a solution,\u201d he said, referring to the October 2023 attack, as he welcomed a growing number of nations recognising a Palestinian state, calling the moves \u201cinsufficient\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that 159 countries have approved or recognised the Palestinian state is good, but it is not enough. How do we turn the Palestinian state into a reality on the ground? That is the big question we are concerned with as Palestinians, as Arabs, as Muslims, and along with our friends around the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meshaal called on the Arab and Muslim states to move from a \u201cdefensive policy\u201d to \u201coffence\u201d in the diplomatic arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to entrench that it is a pariah entity and a burden on security, stability, and international interests; to pursue it and turn it into an entity that loses its international legitimacy completely, just like the apartheid regime in South Africa,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are the owners of a just cause, and the accused is the one who committed the war crime of genocide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hamas leader rejects disarmament while Israeli occupation of Gaza continues Speaking at Al Jazeera Forum, Khaled Meshaal describes discussion around Hamas handing over weapons as a continuation of a long effort to neutralise Palestinian armed resistance. Head of Hamas abroad says ‘resistance is a right’ for occupied people By Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 8 Feb […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailypremiumbulletin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}