Key Points
- Hamas leader Khaled Meshal stresses Palestinian self-governance.
- Urges the Board of Peace to adopt a “balanced approach” for Gaza’s reconstruction.
- At least five Palestinians injured in coordinated attacks by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank
- In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal
DOHA: A senior leader of the Palestinian group Hamas has said the group will neither disarm nor accept any form of foreign intervention in Gaza.
“Criminalising the resistance, its weapons, and those who carried it out is something we should not accept,” Khaled Meshal said at a conference in Doha.
“As long as there’s occupation, there’s resistance. Resistance is a right of peoples under occupation,” said Meshal, who initially led the group.
On Sunday, Meshal called on the Board of Peace to adopt what he described as a “balanced approach” that would facilitate Gaza’s reconstruction and ensure the inflow of aid to its roughly 2.2 million residents. At the same time, he added that Hamas would “not accept foreign rule” over Palestine.
“We adhere to our national principles and reject the logic of guardianship, external intervention, or the return of a mandate in any form,” Meshal said.
“Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza and to Palestine. We will not accept foreign rule,” he added.
Hamas has constantly maintained that demilitarisation remains a red line, though it has expressed willingness to consider transferring its arms to a future Palestinian governing authority.
Since the war started in Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israel has killed nearly 72,000 Palestinians and wounded another 171,000 others, while destroying about 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure.
Board of peace
The Board of Peace has been launched with an initial focus on Gaza, with stated aims of supporting a durable ceasefire, scaling up humanitarian assistance, and easing reconstruction after months of Israeli war.
The reconstruction frame under discussion includes rebuilding homes, hospitals and seminaries, restoring water and electricity systems, reviving livelihoods, and addressing the long- term humanitarian impact of the war.
President Trump said the board would work “in confluence with the United Nations” and described the initiative as a new way to help resolve global conflicts.
“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” Trump said, adding that the combination could be “very, very unique for the world”.
Israeli settlers kill five Palestinians
At least five Palestinians were injured late Saturday in a series of coordinated attacks by illegal Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian authorities.
WAFA news agency reported that the settlers attacked three Palestinians working on their land in the city of Beit Imrin, north of Nablus, leaving them with bruises and other injuries.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams shifted one of the injured to a near by hosi[ital. for the treatment.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, illegal Israeli settlers carried out at least 468 attacks against Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank in January alone.
In a ruling in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and called for the evacuation of all agreements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
