A senior Hamas leader said on Sunday (February 8, 2026) that the Palestinian Islamist movement would not surrender its arms or accept foreign intervention in Gaza, pushing back against US and Israeli demands.
“We must not accept the criminalization of the resistance, its weapons and those who carried it out,” Khaled Meshaal told a conference in Doha.
“As long as there is employment, there is resistance. Resistance is the right of employed people … nations are proud of,” said Meshaal, who previously headed the group.
Hamas, an Islamist movement, has waged an armed struggle against what it sees as Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. It launched a deadly cross-border attack from Gaza into Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering the latest war.
A US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza is in its second phase, which foresees the demilitarization of the territory with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces – including the disarmament of Hamas.
Hamas has repeatedly said disarmament is a red line, although it has indicated it could consider handing over its weapons to a future Palestinian Authority.
Israeli officials say Hamas still has about 20,000 fighters and about 60,000 Kalashnikovs in Gaza.
A committee of Palestinian technicians has been set up with the goal of taking over day-to-day governance in the battered Gaza Strip, but it is unclear how it will address the issue of demilitarization.
The committee will work under the “Board of Peace” initiative launched by US President Donald Trump.
Originally envisioned to oversee the Gaza accord and post-war reconstruction, the council’s mandate has since expanded, raising concerns among critics that it could evolve into a rival to the United Nations.
Mr Trump unveiled the board at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos last month, where leaders and officials from nearly two dozen countries joined him in signing its founding charter.
In addition to the Board of Peace, Mr Trump has created a Gaza Executive Board – an advisory committee to the Palestinian Technical Committee – made up of international figures including US ambassadors Steve Wittkoff and Jared Kushner and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
On Sunday (February 8, 2026), Mr. Meshaal urged the peace council to adopt what he called a “balanced approach” that would allow the flow of aid to the reconstruction of Gaza and its nearly 2.2 million residents, but warned that Hamas “will not accept foreign rule” over the Palestinian territory.
“We are committed to our national principles and reject the logic of protectionism, external interference or any form of return to order,” Mr Meshaal said.
“Palestinians rule Palestinians. Gaza belongs to the people of Gaza and to Palestine. We will not accept foreign rule,” he added.
Published – February 08, 2026 09:26 pm IST
