Hamas says path for Gaza must begin with end to 'Israeli aggression'

Gaza City: Discussions on Gaza’s future must begin with a total halt to Israeli “aggression”, Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said after US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace met for the first time.

“Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people’s legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination,” Hamas said in a statement Thursday.

Trump’s board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel to rebuild the Palestinian territory, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted however that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins.

“We agreed with our ally the US that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarisation of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader did not attend the Washington meeting but was represented by his foreign minister Gideon Saar.

Trump said several countries, mostly in the Gulf, had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Muslim-majority Indonesia will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilisation Force, the unit’s American chief Major General Jasper Jeffers said.

Trump, whose plan for Gaza was endorsed by the UN Security Council in November, also said five countries had committed to providing troops, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.