Hamas negotiator Razi Hamed tells WSJ: No agreement on disarmament or Israeli involvement

Contradicting the Framework

In a significant challenge to the diplomatic momentum announced by the Trump administration, Hamas negotiator Razi Hamed has explicitly denied that the group agreed to the core tenets of the Gaza Board of Peace plan. "We did not say disarmament, we did not say handing over weapons, and we did not agree to any Israeli involvement," Hamed told the Wall Street Journal. These remarks follow earlier statements to Al Jazeera where Hamed insisted that any discussion of weapons is contingent upon a full Israeli withdrawal and the commencement of Gaza's reconstruction.

Strategic Gaps

The denial highlights a widening gap between the "historic agreement" announced by U.S. President Donald Trump early Friday and the reality on the ground. As [The Zioneer reported earlier](https://thezioneer.com/en/article/hamas-agrees-to-board-of-peace-plan-for-complete-gaza-disarmament-israel-yet-to-comment-on-withdrawal-timeline), the proposed framework involves a 200-to-300-day timeline for total demilitarization. However, Hamas officials appear to be framing the deal not as a surrender, but as a "storage" arrangement under a technocratic government, while maintaining their arsenal as "legitimate resistance tools."

Security Implications

For Israeli security planners, Hamed's comments reinforce long-standing skepticism regarding Hamas's intent. While the diplomatic track suggests a "functional surrender," the terror group's insistence on zero Israeli involvement and no practical disarmament before an IDF pullout suggests a tactical maneuver to preserve its military infrastructure. Jerusalem has yet to issue a formal response to the specific withdrawal timelines, as officials evaluate whether the framework can truly achieve a verified, weapon-free Gaza.