Washington, Dec 30 (.) US President Donald Trump warned Hamas that there would be “hell to pay” if it failed to disarm as agreed, within the “very short period” extended to them, while speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after talks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“Hamas will be given a very short period of time to disarm,” Trump said at a press conference on Monday. “If they don’t disarm, as they agreed to do, then there will be hell to pay for them.” He later repeated the warning, saying that refusal to comply would be “really, really bad” for the group, reports Times Of Israel.
The warning came as part of a broader set of remarks on Middle East policy delivered before and after the meeting.
Announcing his support for Jerusalem, Trump said that the US would back any Israeli strike on Iran should Tehran continue advancing its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, despite the slew of warnings given.
He also praised the leaders of Turkey and Syria for their constructive role in the whole situation, though relations between Jerusalem and Ankara have been lukewarm at best, and much more hostile with Damascus.
Stating that he wanted to move to the second phase of his 20-point peace plan for Gaza “as quickly as we can”, Trump stopped short of offering a specific timeline.
The first phase of the ceasefire began in October, and while there had been some tangible progress on the first phase, things have come to a virtual halt as the second phase has been stalled consistently owing to tensions between Jerusalem and the terror group.
Aimed at establishing a long-term administrative and security arrangement for Gaza, as per the second phase of the peace plan, a transitional government of Palestinian technocrats would be put in place for management of day-to-day affairs until the Palestinian Authority completes internal reforms.
In the meanwhile, security would be provided by a global multi-national task force called the International Stabilisation Force, which will specifically be accountable for the enclave’s patrolling and advancing demilitarisation, which in turn would be overseen by a Board of Peace, personally chaired by Trump.
Trump’s proposal was first presented in September during Netanyahu’s previous visit to the US and included the prospect of a pathway towards a future Palestinian state, an idea long opposed by Netanyahu and his coalition partners.
Israel and Hamas later agreed to a more limited document covering only the first phase of the ceasefire, including Israel’s partial withdrawal to a designated ‘Yellow Line’, an exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and an increase in humanitarian aid.
While Hamas has been delaying the delivery of all hostage remains as agreed, it has delivered all save one, whose remains still lie in Gaza.
As per US officials, the terror group agreed to disarm during last-minute talks before the phase-one deal was finalised on October 9.
However, Hamas has repeatedly denied this claim, insisting it would only give up its weapons through negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Disarmament itself has been a highly controversial topic within Hamas, and has created strong divisions within the group, as its political leadership and some of its military brass has conceded to relinquishing all heavy armaments such as artillery, bombs, drones, missiles, mortar, and heavy machine guns, in exchange for retaining small arms, majority of its military wing has ruled out giving up any of its armaments, with Israel likewise not settling for any compromise on its demands for total disarmament.
Washington has reportedly held discussions with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey about a gradual disarmament process beginning with Hamas relinquishing heavy weapons, an approach Israel has resisted owing to tensions with all three countries.
The lack of progress has delayed any transition to phase two, which US officials had hoped to announce last month. Israeli military operations in Gaza have continued meanwhile, with more than 400 people reported killed since the ceasefire began. Israel says most of those strikes were in response to Hamas violations.
Despite some differences over Gaza, Trump said his relationship with Netanyahu “has been extraordinary.”
He said he had met the Israeli prime minister six times this year, more than any other world leader, and that while they differed on some issues, they were almost fully aligned with each other on most matters.
Trump said that White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who also participated in the summit, will be in charge of the Hamas disarmament effort on the US side.
He reiterated that if the terror group refuses to disarm, “it will be horrible, horrible for them. It’s going to be really, really bad.”
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