Hamas has thrown a spanner in the works by reiterating that it would not disarm itself. This declaration, after a long pause from the Palestinian politico-militant body, has come as a shock. It has literally derailed the functioning of President Donald Trump’s envisaged ‘Board of Peace’, intended at demilitarising and rebuilding the besieged Gaza Strip. The pushback from Hamas chief, Khaled Meshal, has opened a Pandora’s box and pundits of neo-realism are in a nail-biting situation.

The Palestinian movement made it clear that it would “not surrender its weapons nor accept foreign intervention in Gaza”. It also aptly played the Arab street by pronouncing, “…as long as there is occupation, there is resistance. Resistance is a right of peoples under occupation … something nations take pride in”. This new resolve from Hamas is a sharp twist in its approach in settling the dispute and must have come to the surprise of many mediators involved in the peace process.

This new development has also made it clear that the resistance movement is still intact and the US-Israel claim of the obliteration of Hamas is overrated. The assertion that Hamas still has around 20,000 fighters and 60,000 Kalashnikovs in Gaza is a daunting proposition. It is, however, questionable whether Hamas will be able to retain its livability in case of a cordon by Board of Peace member states, especially taking into account the fact that its supply lines, especially from Iran, are choked.

With the Board’s executive session on the cards, it’s time for all the stakeholders to revisit the Gaza plan. Two millions Gazans are in need of a fair deal, and the most imperative aspect is to hold Israel responsible for the genocide and make it evacuate the occupied territories without any conditionalities. Hamas has taken a high moral ground by saying that it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority. Let the buck first stop at Israel before asking Hamas for a climb-down.