Behind the Scenes of the American Draft for Disarming the Resistance in Gaza: Plan Details and Proposed Administration Structures

International press reports have revealed a draft of a new American plan aimed at setting a timeline for disarming the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip. Washington intends to present these proposals to the Hamas movement in the coming weeks, in an attempt to break the stalemate surrounding the issue of what is known as the 'day after' the war.

Leading the team overseeing the preparation of this document are prominent figures close to the American administration, including Jared Kushner, a member of the Peace Council, Steve Witkoff, the American envoy, and Nicolay Mladenov. These moves come about a month after the American announcement of the unilateral start of the second phase of the agreement.

Leaked details indicate that the plan primarily focuses on the surrender of weapons 'capable of striking Israel' as a top priority. In return, the draft proposes allowing factions to retain some light weapons initially, noting that these details remain subject to change and modification in subsequent drafts.

The American document proposes four organizational structures for administering the Gaza Strip during the transitional phase to ensure security stability. These structures include the 'National Committee,' the 'Peace Council,' the 'Gaza Executive Council,' in addition to an 'International Stabilization Force' that will undertake specific field tasks.

Despite Hamas's announcement of its readiness to hand over the administration of the Strip to a national body, field sources have accused the Israeli occupation of obstructing the National Committee's access to Gaza. There appears to be a wide gap between the American vision for administering the Strip and the reality imposed by the occupation's actions on the ground.

The draft suffers from technical ambiguity regarding the classification of weapon types included in the disarmament decision, as it did not clarify whether only missiles are targeted or if mortars are also included. The document also did not specify the nature of 'light weapons' permitted in a social and tribal environment that historically relies on weapon ownership.

In a related context, Israeli intelligence estimates showed that Hamas still retains significant military power despite months of war. These estimates indicate that the movement possesses about sixty thousand Kalashnikov rifles, in addition to about half of its tunnel network continuing to operate with high operational efficiency.

Monitoring sources criticized the American draft's silence on the mechanism for dealing with the complex tunnel network, which Israel considers an integral part of the military infrastructure. The plan did not include any clear indications of the fate of these tunnels, raising questions about the comprehensiveness of the American vision for ending armed manifestations.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his speech before the Knesset, emphasizing that the second phase of the agreement is not aimed at reconstruction. Netanyahu stressed that the focus will be exclusively on disarming the resistance, threatening to resolve this issue 'the easy way or the hard way,' as he put it.

In contrast, sources within Hamas affirmed the factions' adherence to their position rejecting any infringement on their military arsenal under any circumstances. The movement stresses that its weapons are the sole guarantee for protecting the Palestinian people, considering that conceding them is not negotiable in political negotiations.

Khalil al-Hayya, Deputy Head of the movement's Political Bureau, had previously stated that the resistance's weapons represent a red line that cannot be crossed in exchange for a ceasefire. This position reflects a fundamental divergence from American and Israeli ambitions that seek to completely strip the Strip of its defensive and offensive capabilities.

The American draft remains hostage to difficult agreements and official reactions from the concerned parties, amid increasing international pressure to end the conflict. Washington is betting on linking the disarmament issue to promises of reconstruction and lifting the siege, a gamble that so far clashes with the resistance's adherence to its field and political conditions.

The resistance's weapons are a red line, and the issue of weapons is a purely Palestinian matter that no party has the right to concede.