"Hamas will not disarm": Israeli historian Benny Morris on Gaza peace deal

Tel Aviv [Israel], October 15 (ANI): Israeli historian and author Benny Morris on Wednesday warned that the Gaza peace deal between Israel and Hamas remains out of reach, adding that the group will never give up its weapons and still seeks Israel's destruction.

Speaking with ANI, Morris said, "I don't see a peace occurring between Israel and the Palestinians in the coming years. Hamas will not disarm. Its ideology calls for Israel's destruction, and it wants to play a part in that destruction."

Explaining why disarmament is unlikely, Morris said the group's leaders fear internal rivals as much as Israel. "They will not give up their arms because they want to continue to fight Israel. They also have internal enemies, and if they give up their arms, they are likely to be fired at or killed by those enemies," he said.

According to him, recent clashes in Gaza between Hamas fighters and the Dughmush local clan, affiliated with Hamas's rival political party, Fatah, showed this internal tension clearly.

Morris added that the ideology of Hamas, as well as the sentiment among many Palestinians, continues to reject Israel's existence. If Israel doesn't accept a two-state solution, the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel, then Palestinians will not give up thier struggle against Israel.

"The present Israeli government and most Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu and his colleagues, and I fear most Israelis by now, believe that the establishment of a Palestinian state will be an existential threat to Israel's existence. This is partly due to believing that Islamists will eventually take over any Palestinian state, like the Hamas organisation, because all recent opinion polls have shown that what Hamas does and has done is supported by most Palestinians, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Suppose Israel doesn't accept a two-state solution, the establishment of a Palestinian state next to Israel. In that case, I don't see how the Palestinians will give up their struggle against Israel because they want Israel to be destroyed. They don't want Israel to exist. This is Hamas's public posture, public official position. And most Palestinians in their hearts also agree with this, " he said.

The historian noted that most Israelis, including the current government, oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, viewing it as an existential threat.

"Netanyahu and his colleagues, and I fear most Israelis by now, believe that any Palestinian state will eventually be taken over by Islamists like Hamas," he added.

On the recent ceasefire and hostage release deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Morris said the agreement gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an "out" from pursuing another military offensive in Gaza.

"Most Israelis opposed such a new offensive because it would have led to the deaths of many Israeli soldiers and hostages. Netanyahu understood that the hostages would not be saved by more fighting," he said.

Following months of intense warfare, a ceasefire in Gaza, brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, came into effect on October 10, 2025, spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, outlining a 20-point framework aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas conflict through ceasefire, hostage release and long-term reconstruction.

Morris added that Trump's involvement helped Israel step back from a costly operation while preserving the government's political standing.

Commenting on Trump's Gaza peace plan, Morris said while the idea of an international administration to oversee Gaza "makes sense," it is unlikely to be implemented.

"The problem is I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think any force, American, Pakistani, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, any of them are going to go after Hamas. If Hamas doesn't want to give up its arms, nobody is going to fight Hamas on behalf of Israel. The only force that can disarm Hamas is the Israeli army, but that would require huge sacrifices of both soldiers and civilians," he said.

Referring to Israel's failed strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar, Morris said the incident hurt Netanyahu's global standing.

"Had Israel's strike in Doha killed the Hamas leadership, Trump would have been happy. But its failure embarrassed both Israel and Trump, especially since it happened on the soil of a US ally," Morris noted.

"Hamas will not give up its arms, it will resurge, and the problem will continue for Israel down the years," he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump stated that Hamas would be required to surrender its weapons under the terms of the recently negotiated peace agreement, warning that the US would take action if it failed to do so.

"They're going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm," Trump said. "And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them."

"They know I'm not playing games," he added. Trump made the remarks during a bilateral lunch with Argentinian President Javier Milei at the White House. The meeting came shortly after the US government announced a USD 20 billion financial support package to help stabilise Argentina's economy. (ANI)

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