A breakthrough was made this week in disarmament talks between Hamas and the US-controlled Board of Peace, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Thursday.

An announcement on Hamas’s agreement to a 15-point Board of Peace proposal that would see the gradual handover of the terror group’s weapons could come in the coming days, an Arab diplomat familiar with the negotiations said.

But as reports amassed about an imminent deal, an Israeli official appeared to pour cold water on the optimism, saying that the 15-point proposal “does not adequately address” Jerusalem’s demands for the “complete demilitarization, [which is] a precondition for any process.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government raised these objections recently to Board of Peace envoy Tony Blair, the Israeli official said in a statement, without specifying its issues with the disarmament proposal.

“There will be no IDF withdrawal from the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed and the Strip is fully demilitarized,” the Israeli official added.

The proposal being discussed would see Hamas — over an eight-month period — gradually hand over its weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, the Board of Peace-overseen panel of Palestinian technocrats that is tasked with replacing the terror group in governing the Strip, the Arab diplomat said.

The International Stabilization Force and Palestinian police will be tasked with assisting in the process, though there is no timeline for either to begin deploying in Gaza.

Israeli-armed anti-Hamas militia groups in Gaza would also be forced to give up their weapons, while a buy-back program will allow Palestinians to receive funds if they hand over their personal weapons. Hamas members who comply with the proposal will be granted amnesty, the Arab diplomat said.

The NCAG will gradually take over areas that have been demilitarized, with a pilot housing project being planned for the Rafah area, a Board of Peace source said.

The........

© The Times of Israel