GATESTONE
Begging Hamas to Disarm – The Misguided Approach of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’
Khaled Abu Toameh
March 23, 2026

…Someone needs to inform [Trump negotiator] Mladenov that Hamas has already made a choice: to reject disarmament. Over the past few months, Hamas leaders have consistently dismissed demands to disarm and characterized disarmament as a “red line.” Hamas leaders have instead proposed long-term truces (5-10 years) rather than total decommissioning of arms. Another thing the “Board of Peace” and Mladenov do not seem to understand is that Hamas uses ceasefires with Israel to rebuild, regroup, and restock its arsenal and tunnel networks.  The tone of the latest US proposal to Hamas and Mladenov’s holiday greetings appears as if the Trump administration is pleading with Hamas to disarm. There is something deeply misguided – if not outright dangerous – about the idea that the US or other international parties should beg Hamas to lay down its weapons. To ask Hamas politely to disarm is fantasyland. The notion that the “Board of Peace,” no matter how well-intentioned, can persuade Hamas to relinquish its arsenal through dialogue alone ignores decades of evidence to the contrary. READ MORE