Saudi Arabia reduces its role in Gaza future talks, demands Hamas be dismantled

An unnamed senior Israeli official has announced that Saudi Arabia has reduced its role in talks regarding the future of Gaza. The official stated that the Riyadh administration has set the complete dismantling of Hamas as a fundamental condition for progress in this process.

The same official said, “Israel is now facing a bloc consisting of Türkiye, Qatar, and Egypt, which are making various efforts to keep Hamas politically on the stage.”

Minister’s words caused a diplomatic crisis

According to the official who spoke to the Israel Hayom newspaper, remarks by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, such as “Let the Saudis continue to ride camels,” have seriously damaged both future diplomatic contacts with the kingdom and Israel’s overall position in ceasefire negotiations.

Following these remarks, a tense meeting took place between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and Smotrich, and the minister was forced to apologize publicly.

The Israeli official emphasized that Riyadh, much like Israel, stipulates that any arrangement for Gaza must begin with the disarmament of Hamas, adding:

“The Saudis are now participating in these talks at a minimal level. Smotrich is not the only reason, but his words pushed them in this direction.”

The official summarized the current situation, stating, “Israel is now dealing with a bloc consisting of Türkiye, Qatar, and Egypt, which wants to preserve Hamas’s role in Gaza at various levels and refuses to pressure Hamas to lay down its arms.”

Other countries are also reluctant to send troops

Israel Hayom had previously reported that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are opposed to sending troops to Gaza as long as Hamas continues to exist as a military force.

According to Arab diplomatic sources, Egypt is also not keen on deploying troops to the region at this stage. The Cairo administration argues that, according to international law, the sovereign of Gaza is the Palestinian Authority, which should therefore take over its governance. However, the newspaper wrote that “this justification is largely seen as an excuse.”

The report stated, “Egypt, like others, knows that a conflict between its own troops and Hamas elements would be inevitable, especially in the event of a genuine disarmament attempt.”

No one is taking on the disarmament task

It was noted that this assessment is also shared by Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, and Morocco, which are considering sending troops to Gaza. It was also recorded that Qatar, which had previously been considered for sending a police force to the region, is no longer keen on this plan for the same reason.

Israel Hayom reported that some Arab countries participating in the negotiations had previously considered a different formula:

“Some Arab countries involved in the negotiations envisioned a lightly armed observation force that would patrol the line between areas controlled by the Israeli army and those controlled by Hamas, without entering civilian settlements.”

According to the newspaper, this approach, which Hamas also supported, is no longer valid. The report concluded, “In practice, this means that no international force is currently willing to take responsibility for Gaza or to carry out the task of disarming Hamas.”