A Board of Peace official said Saturday that Hamas will begin handing over its weapons in the coming days, in accordance with the disarmament plan it approved this week.

The official walked back an earlier statement made Thursday that Hamas’s approval of the disarmament plan immediately triggered the first 14 days of the deal — which would see Israeli forces pull back from positions in Gaza as the terror organization lays down its weapons and transfers control of the enclave to a technocratic body — and acknowledged the agreement has yet to enter into force.

The Board of Peace official said the US-backed agency hoped the disarmament plan would begin in the coming days.

Once in place, the deal begins with a two-week period during which the sides will finalize the timeline for the full implementation of Hamas’s disarmament over a period of 200 to 350 days, officials told reporters on a briefing call on Thursday.

But the hold-off on commencing the deal may have to do with Israel’s opposition to it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment, but two statements attributed to a “senior Israeli official” since Thursday said that Jerusalem does not approve of the disarmament plan and accordingly will not withdraw, despite statements from American officials that US President Donald Trump would be “very disappointed” if Israel does not move forward with the plan.

Moreover, the Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that it had conducted a series of strikes against Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, a further signal that it doesn’t intend to cooperate with the disarmament plan, which would require halting all military operations.

Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP on Saturday that “the ball is currently in the Israeli occupation’s court” and called on mediators to “pressure Israel to halt violations and breaches of the ceasefire.”

Palestinian civilians in Gaza have also expressed skepticism, saying they have been repeatedly promised that the war will stop and their lives will improve.

“This is enough. We need improvement in our lives,” said Ayman Ahmed, a displaced Palestinian living in southern Gaza. He said he hopes Hamas gives up its arms, but does not see it happening anytime soon.

“They don’t care about Palestinians’ lives,” he said.

“They can talk about........

© The Times of Israel