Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

It is a big challenge to get Hamas to give up its weapons, because armed resistance against the Israeli occupation is at the core of its actions and ideology...Hamas feels that it must get something in return, even if it has signed a pledge to give up weapons. At the very least, Israel must stick to the agreement to withdraw from Gaza...There have been voices from the Palestinian Authority that some Hamas representatives could be admitted to the new regime if Hamas disarms. Israel, the United States, and also Britain and Europe would hardly accept this."

The accords are at the bedrock of regional security architecture,” said HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute and the Center for American Progress. “If that goes, it's bad news for the Egyptian state, but also for many others regionally." ... “The Israelis have asserted total freedom of action in Gaza and the region generally, with a push for an Israeli regional paramountcy. They define the rules, they enforce the rules and they are not held accountable. That is not a bug in the system – it’s a feature, and the [Trump] deal doesn’t change that."

If you want to ensure that there is disarmament of Hamas, which I think is in everyone's best interests, if you want to ensure that there is reconstruction of Gaza, and you want to ensure that there is an external stabilization force that will be willing to deploy to Gaza, then all of that requires there to be a political horizon. You need to be able to say to the stabilization force and to the Palestinians more generally, that at the end of this there is recognition of your right to self-determination."