In a definitive address delivered at a Doha conference on Sunday, senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshal emphatically declared the Palestinian Islamist movement’s refusal to surrender its weapons or accept foreign governance in Gaza. This stance directly challenges key demands from both Israeli and American authorities regarding the territory’s future.
Meshal, a former head of the organization, stated that resistance remains an inherent right for occupied peoples. ‘Criminalising the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept,’ he asserted before attendees. ‘As long as there is occupation, there is resistance. Resistance is a right of peoples under occupation… something nations take pride in.’
The declaration comes during the second phase of a US-brokered ceasefire that envisions demilitarization of Gaza alongside a gradual Israeli military withdrawal. While Hamas has consistently maintained that disarmament represents an absolute ‘red line,’ the group has previously indicated potential willingness to transfer weapons to a future Palestinian governing authority.
Current governance discussions center around a newly established Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with administering Gaza’s daily affairs. However, the critical question of how demilitarization might be implemented remains unresolved. This committee operates under the recently formed ‘Board of Peace’ initiative launched by US President Donald Trump during last month’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
Originally conceived to oversee ceasefire implementation and reconstruction efforts, the Board’s expanding mandate has raised concerns among critics who fear it could potentially evolve into a rival institution to the United Nations. The accompanying Gaza Executive Board—an advisory panel featuring prominent international figures including US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair—provides additional oversight.
Meshal specifically addressed the Board of Peace, urging adoption of a ‘balanced approach’ that facilitates reconstruction and humanitarian aid delivery for Gaza’s 2.2 million residents. Simultaneously, he issued a stark warning against foreign intervention: ‘We adhere to our national principles and reject the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or the return of a mandate in any form. Palestinians are to govern Palestinians. Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza and to Palestine. We will not accept foreign rule.’