A senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official claims that Hamas is engaged in discussions with Israel and the United States over the dismantling of its military apparatus in Gaza — including the potential sale of its weapons stockpile — in what would mark a dramatic shift in the terrorist group’s long-stated public position.

Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Council, said in an interview published by Saudi network Al-Arabiya’s Mazeej podcast that Hamas is negotiating over the fate of its arms even as it publicly insists it will not disarm without the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Hamas is discussing its arms with both the Americans and the Israelis,” Majdalani said, without clarifying whether the contacts are direct or indirect.

According to Majdalani, the talks center on three key components: consolidating heavy weapons, demolishing military infrastructure — including tunnels and weapons manufacturing facilities — and limiting future arms to a police force that would replace Hamas-run security services in Gaza under President Donald Trump’s proposed peace framework.

He claimed Hamas is seeking a disarmament arrangement modeled on what he described as the “Irish model,” in which weapons would be gathered and sold in exchange for money. Majdalani did not specify to whom the weapons would be sold, and it remains unclear which historical precedent he was referencing. Under the 1998 Belfast Agreement, Irish paramilitary groups decommissioned their weapons without financial compensation.

“I didn’t make this up,” Majdalani said, urging Hamas to publicly acknowledge what he described as ongoing negotiations. He characterized the group’s repeated public pledges to retain its weapons as messaging “for public consumption,” asserting that the tone in private discussions differs significantly.

The remarks, if accurate, would represent a potential breakthrough in one of the most entrenched obstacles to ending the Gaza war. Israel has repeatedly insisted that Hamas must disarm before any meaningful reconstruction of Gaza can proceed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities is a prerequisite for long-term security.

“Israel wants an excuse” to keep the war going, Majdalani alleged. “First, the excuse was the soldier’s body, and it was found.” He was referring to the remains of Israeli Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili hy”d, the last confirmed Israeli hostage in Gaza, recovered last month. “Today, the excuse is the weapons.”

“Netanyahu will keep using this excuse for as long as possible to undermine the possibility of an agreement to end the war,” Majdalani said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)