Hamas accused the Trump-appointed Board of Peace of adopting the Israeli narrative on Gaza [Getty]
Hamas has rejected a report by Trump’s Board of Peace to the UN Security Council regarding delays in implementing the Gaza Strip roadmap and saying that its failure to disarm was the “principal obstacle” to full implementation of a ceasefire brokered last October.
It said that the report contained “misrepresentations” and adopted the Israeli narrative on the movement’s weapons and governance of Gaza.
In a press statement issued Tuesday, the movement said the report ignored Israel’s failure to uphold its commitments under the ceasefire agreement, as well as its continued closure of border crossings and prevention of the entry of reconstruction materials.
Israel has killed at least 880 people in near-daily deadly airstrikes on Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect.
However, the Board of Peace said in its report that “the principal obstacle to full implementation (of the ceasefire) remains Hamas’ refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza”.
Hamas strongly denied this, insisting that Israel was responsible for disrupting implementation of the agreement by refusing to comply with its terms and focusing instead on the issue of disarmament.
The movement also rejected accusations that it seeks to retain control over Gaza, stating that it had repeatedly declared its readiness to hand over administration of the territory to a National Committee appointed by the Board of Peace and called for it to operate in Gaza.
The committee remains in Cairo, with Israel so far preventing its entry to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas argued that the report’s adoption of Israeli demands regarding disarmament represented a “suspicious attempt to muddy the waters” and obstruct implementation of the ceasefire agreement and its agreed phases.
The movement called on the Board of Peace and its representative, Nikolay Mladenov, not to side with the Israeli narrative and instead work to compel Israel to fulfil its commitments under the first phase of the agreement, foremost among them ending daily aggression against Palestinians in Gaza.
