Hamas Rejects Disarmament Talks, Calls Weapons a ‘Red Line’

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A senior Hamas official on Sunday dismissed reports of talks with Saudi Arabia or France about disarming the terror group in Gaza, calling the idea an “absolute red line.”

Speaking anonymously to the UK-based, Qatari-funded Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the official said, “The weapons of resistance are not negotiable,” emphasizing that all armed factions in Gaza share this stance–not just Hamas.

He criticized international diplomatic efforts focused on disarmament without demanding an Israeli withdrawal or increased humanitarian aid. “Such initiatives only serve Netanyahu’s government, which is under global pressure amid images of dead children in Gaza,” he stated.

Despite its hardline position on weapons, Hamas has told mediators it is open to stepping aside from governing Gaza if it would help end the fighting and allow for reconstruction and aid. The group also reiterated its readiness to release all hostages, citing poor conditions for both captives and Gaza’s civilian population.

“What Netanyahu has not been able to achieve on the military field, he will not achieve at the negotiating table either,” the official concluded.

History of Hamas

Hamas was founded in 1987 during the First Intifada as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza. Formally known as Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement), it positioned itself as a religious-nationalist alternative to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), with the goal of establishing an Islamic state in all of historic Palestine. From the beginning, Hamas combined political activism, social services, and armed resistance, gaining grassroots support for its uncompromising stance against Israel.

Its 1988 charter cast the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a religious war, declaring that all of Palestine—“from the river to the sea”—is Islamic land that cannot be surrendered. It rejected peace talks and called for Israel’s destruction through jihad, drawing on Islamic texts and invoking conspiracy theories, including anti-Semitic claims that blamed Jews for global turmoil. One of the most notable elements of the 1988 Hamas Charter is its quotation of a hadith widely associated with Islamic End Times narratives, stating that the Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews. This prophecy has been interpreted by some radical groups as a divine mandate for war, framing the conflict not merely as political, but as part of an apocalyptic struggle. From the charter:

“The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say: ‘O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”

This hadith, found in Sahih Muslim, is interpreted by many radical groups to mean that the final confrontation between Muslims and Jews is a necessary step before the arrival of the Mahdi (the guided one) and the return of Jesus (Isa) to defeat evil and establish justice.

While not all Muslims accept this eschatological view, Hamas incorporates it into its ideology, portraying its struggle as part of a larger, prophetic battle. This religious framing elevates the conflict beyond politics, casting it as a cosmic confrontation with apocalyptic significance that further entrenches divisions and complicates prospects for peace.

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