Arab and Muslim nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have, for the first time, collectively urged Hamas to disarm and relinquish control of the Gaza Strip in a bid to help end the ongoing war in the territory.
The unprecedented joint appeal was part of a declaration endorsed on Tuesday at a high-level United Nations conference in New York, co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France. The statement received backing from the 22-member Arab League, all 27 members of the European Union, and an additional 17 countries.
The gathering was focused on advancing “the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the Two-State Solution.” The declaration outlines a series of measures deemed critical to achieving lasting peace.
“Governance, law enforcement and security across all Palestinian territory must lie solely with the Palestinian Authority, with appropriate international support,” the document states. It goes on to stress that, as part of efforts to bring the Gaza war to an end, “Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State.”
The declaration also strongly condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the current conflict, and proposed the establishment of “a temporary international stabilization mission” in Gaza — to be deployed at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority and “under the aegis of the United Nations.”
We welcomed the readiness expressed by some Member States to contribute in troops,” the document noted, signaling possible international military participation aimed at stabilizing the region as part of any post-war transition.
