Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 28.12.2025
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan expressed total opposition to the demilitarization of Gaza and the disarmament of the organization, saying correctly that such a move is “contrary to logic.” In an interview with Al-Masira, which is affiliated with the Houthis in Yemen, Hamdan detailed why the demand of Israel and the West to demilitarize the Gaza Strip is unacceptable to Hamas.
In his remarks, Hamdan attacked the Israeli-American demand to disarm the “resistance,” calling it a move that lacks strategic and national logic. “The logic of disarming is fundamentally unacceptable, and we cannot discuss this issue. These weapons are weapons of resistance, and the reason for their existence is the occupation,” he said.
According to him, the demand for demilitarization is not solely for security considerations, but also for broader political goals. “Dismantling the weapons of the resistance in the region means opening the door to swallowing most of the [Arab] nation’s land, because then Israel will become the sole and only owner of weapons in the region,” he claimed.
Hamdan added that “the idea of handing over weapons is not acceptable to the resistance, and today there is a Palestinian national consensus about it.” According to him, if Israel has not succeeded in disarming Hamas by force during more than two years of fighting, it is not logical to assume that any foreign power will be able to do so now: “The enemy will not succeed in this even in a hundred years.”
Referring to the transition to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, Hamdan made it clear that Hamas would not be satisfied with general or vague formulations: “The guarantees must be clearer, and the commitments must be more detailed.” He claimed that Israel was concerned about the transition to this stage, since it required a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and recognition that Hamas’ military infrastructure remained intact.”
In the interview, Hamdan defined Hamas’s position for the second stage as three “nos”: no to external guardianship, no to giving up arms, and no interference in internal Palestinian affairs. He also addressed the issue of the crossings and the ongoing blockade, saying that their failure to open them constitutes a “military signal” by Israel of its intention to resume hostilities. According to him, the use of the prevention of basic needs as a tool of war only deepens hostility toward Israel and strengthens the determination of the Palestinian public.
Hamdan also said that the US administration is striving to ensure Israeli hegemony that will serve its interests, but assessed that these plans are based on “illusions of power.” Despite the losses suffered by the “axis of resistance,” especially the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, Hamdan expressed confidence in Hamas’s ability to continue: “I am calm in knowing that the resistance is capable of persevering, and I believe that the end of the conflict will be the erasure of this entity (Israel).”
This is not a pie in the sky, as Israel is collapsing within itself, a collapse that Netanyahu’s government is leading. Another government led by the Zionist opposition of today will not be able to stop this historical process. A war with Iran will only push this end forward.
The pipe dreams of Trump that the Abraham Accords will be expanded have proven false not only in Saudi Arabia but in Iraq.
A public political storm erupted in Iraq after the Catholic Patriarch Cardinal Luis Sacco mentioned the Arabic term “Tadbia” during a Christmas Mass in Baghdad, a word associated in regional discourse mainly with normalization of relations with Israel. In his remarks, Sacco called on the next Iraqi government to “make sure that normalization takes place in Iraq and with Iraq.”
Sacco justified his remarks by saying that Iraq is “the land of Abraham and the land of the prophets,” and even added a statement with historical and cultural baggage when he noted that “the Talmud was written in Babylon.” He said, “The whole world should come to Iraq.”
In 2022, the parliament passed a law that makes normalization with Israel a criminal offense. The wording of the law defines “normalization” broadly, which also includes “promotion” of relations and “communication” with Israel, and establishes severe sanctions – including the death penalty or life imprisonment in some cases, along with other heavy prison sentences.
The PM of Iraq, Al-Sudani, who was present at the ceremony, responded to the remarks during the mass. He stressed that “the word normalization does not exist in the Iraqi dictionary,” because he said it was associated with “an occupying entity that harmed the land and people.” Al-Sudani added that Iraq “does not need normalization, but brotherhood, love, and coexistence, with a legal and constitutional obligation.”
In the wake of the public uproar, the Iraqi Patriarchate issued a clarification, noting that Sako’s remarks during the sermon were “spread on social media out of context.” According to the statement, the Patriarch stressed that “relations with Iraq and not with any other country should be normalized” because “Abraham was Iraqi, and Iraq is the land of many religions and prophets.”
This is not only in Iraq. Israel’s global brand sinks as the public, not just the government, is blamed, index finds. Nation Brands Index shows sharp rise in hostility toward Israelis worldwide, with Generation Z leading rejection and ‘Made in Israel’ products facing growing de facto boycotts[i]
The Israeli Zionists understand that the Zionist state is sinking. Moran Sharir writes in Haaretz:
“The feeling that has been rising in recent days, following the revelations about the Prime Minister’s Office on the various channels and in an interview with Eli Feldstein, is fear. The anger is long gone, as are the frustration and despair. Now the fear remains. The codes of the underworld govern the country’s highest office. The people who are responsible for our fate are cruel cynics and have no morals. Almost nihilistic. The security of the state is not only a marginal value that has been neglected, but a currency that is traded“[ii]
Endnotes:
[i] Itamar Eichner, 2025-12-25, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjrcfdqmwg
[ii] https://www.haaretz.co.il/digital/daily/2025-12-25/ty-article/.premium/0000019b-55fb-d1ec-a59f-f5ff9c670000