Hamas faces an existential dilemma as US-backed peace proposals, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, demand the militant group's disarmament and dissolution. The plan, aimed at ending the devastating war in Gaza, requires Hamas to release remaining hostages and accept a future without its military arm, posing a severe challenge to the organisation's identity.
The Islamic Resistance Movement, known for its martyrdom ideology and the October 7 atrocities that killed 1,139 people, now confronts potential irrelevance. While its leadership has indicated willingness to consider ceasefires, the cost of the conflict has been immense, with over 67,000 Palestinians killed, according to local officials. Hamas negotiators have engaged in talks with US and Israeli representatives, but the central demand remains: Hamas must disband, disarm, and disappear.
Hamas's own charter reveals internal contradictions. Article 20 rejects compromising any part of Palestinian land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, yet later accepts a two-state solution along 1967 borders. Similarly, Article 16 denies antisemitism, framing the conflict as anti-Zionist. These tensions highlight the difficulty for Hamas in accepting a peace that requires its own dissolution.
The leadership in Gaza may view the situation differently from those in exile, but both face the reality that Trump's plan offers no room for a militant Hamas. The proposals push for a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe Israel, forcing Hamas to choose between irrelevance or continued warfare.
