Will Hamas lay down its arms?
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the "Board of Peace" which he established in January has reached an agreement on the disarmament of terrorist organisation Hamas. An Israeli government spokesperson reacted with scepticism and stressed that there would be no withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip until Hamas fighters had laid down their arms. Europe's press takes stock.
The first step is the problem
Columnist Alan Friedman writes in Corriere del Ticino:
“If it were implemented, this agreement would be a significant achievement and a diplomatic success. The problem lies in that one little verb: 'implement'. Israel has no intention of withdrawing until Hamas has been disarmed, while Hamas does not want to hand over its weapons until Israel has ceased its attacks and withdrawn its troops. Each side expects the other to take the first step.”
Trump’s promises contradicted by reality
Trump's plans are unlikely to succeed, Naftemporiki points out:
“Having become bogged down in Iran, he hopes to get the process for the Gaza Strip back on track, perhaps in the hope of reaping political benefits ahead of the November elections. ... But the reality on the ground is proving him wrong. Not only because of the grim situation in Gaza and the unchecked actions of far-right Jewish settlers in the West Bank, but also because the election campaign in Israel is in full swing, so no significant developments on this issue are to be expected. What's more, progress on the other long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is slow and the promised definitive peace agreement with Lebanon remains a distant prospect.”
Violence as a means of survival
The Frankfurter Rundschau remains sceptical:
“Because at the very least, Hamas and Islamic Jihad can only survive through violence. It is the tragedy of the Middle East that the far-right extremists in Israel have chosen precisely such groups to emulate. Israel, however, has repeatedly shown at least some signs that it can envisage peace – one need only recall Rabin and Arafat. Israel has the potential to deal with its own troublemakers. But 78 years of the Nakba have created a Palestinian people for whom radicalisation comes all too easily. A ceasefire agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.”
An obvious strategy
Hamas will not hand over its weapons, warns the Irish Independent:
“This is a group that from its very inception has been committed to the butchery of all Jews in the region and the establishment of an Islamist caliphate. ... These are the people who embarked on the most depraved display of savagery in recent history – think rape, murder, mutilation and necrophilia – and proceeded to fight from the tunnels without letting civilians in, using them as human sacrifices in the name of social media content. ... It's all an obvious strategy to buy some time while embedding itself even more deeply among Gaza's civilians. ... Having seen the Iranians taking Trump for a fool, Hamas are doing the same.”