US has plan to gradually disarm Hamas, could integrate some members into Gaza police force - report

The U.S. is working on a plan to gradually disarm Hamas over the next couple months, Saudi news site Asharq al-Awsat reported. 

The news agency interviewed Palestinian-American businessman Bishara Bahbah, who served as one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys during the negotiations for the Gaza Peace Plan, who claimed that Washington is discussing a gradual disarmament for the Hamas terror group. 

Bahbah, who heads the political group Arab Americans for Peace, told Asharq al-Awsat that Washington is in the process of presenting a proposal pater to Hamas for a gradual disarmament. 

Bahbah told the Saudi news agency, “A proposal is currently being prepared by Washington regarding the disarmament of Hamas, and it will be presented to the movement soon.” 

He further stated that, “The document includes a phased disarmament process. It begins with heavy weapons, a declaration by Hamas of its commitment not to develop or manufacture any weapons, a commitment not to smuggle any weapons, addressing the issue of tunnels, and then the individual weapons that Hamas requests to retain for self-defense.” 

While a ceasefire agreement started in October 2025, and was to include the disarmament of Hamas as a condition for proceeding to the second phase, the terror group has yet to give up its weapons, and Hamas leaders have publicly stated that the group will never hand over its weapons, except to a Palestinian State. 

Another component of the Gaza Peace Plan is the establishment of the International Stabilization Force (ISF), and a board of technocrats to manage the day-to-day civil and municipal affairs of the enclave. 

According to Bahbah, “the first batch of these forces [ISF] will enter Gaza in early April. Larger numbers will enter in the following months.” 

Bahbah also said the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is expected to enter Gaza at the same time as the first batch of ISF troops, saying, the committee “needs security and protection, and perhaps its entry with those forces will provide the necessary security for it.”  

While the ISF is supposed to maintain security in the Gaza Strip temporarily, the enclave will still need a police force. Recently, Egypt and Jordan began training Palestinians for serving in this police force. However, Bahbah revealed that the U.S. is open to having some members of the Hamas police units join the new police force. He said that all applicants will have to be vetted before being allowed to join. 

“Egypt and Jordan are working on training the Palestinian police force,” Bahbah told Asharq al-Awsat. “Currently, an online registration portal has been opened in Gaza for those interested in joining the police force, and thousands from within the Strip have volunteered to be part of this force. However, these names will be vetted to verify their backgrounds, after which they will be trained to be ready for deployment.” 

Asked if Hamas will accept this new police force, Bahbah responded, “The movement will accept the reality on the ground, and it is currently demanding the integration of its existing police forces into the future Palestinian police force.” 

“There is an offer on the table that includes exempting Hamas members who surrender their weapons and declare they will not fight,” Bahbah claimed. “At the same time, there is a possibility of integrating some of them into the future Palestinian police force, but this will only happen after vetting their names and ensuring that their loyalty will be to the local Palestinian forces and not to any other entity.” 

Israel is unlikely to approve of such an agreement, and the IDF has recently begun training in the event that the military will need to return to Gaza to disarm Hamas forcibly. 

The Palestinian-American also said that the U.S. has been moving slowly on some areas in order to give Israel time. 

He claimed that the United States “is giving Israel a chance and time because it has convinced Israel that it must destroy Hamas’s elements and capabilities, even during a ceasefire. As long as America turns a blind eye to these violations, Israel will act as it pleases in the Gaza Strip.” 

However, he claimed that Israel’s freedom to act against Hamas will be curtailed by the presence of the ISF and the NCAG, as any targeting of Hamas elements “will disrupt the committee’s work, and the United States will not allow this.”