Nikolay Mladenov, director-general of the Peace Council for the Gaza Strip, addressed the United Nations General Assembly with a commitment that all weapons of every type in Gaza will be dismantled, pledging that "there will be no gray areas."
Speaking in an official statement on behalf of the Peace Council at the UN conference, Mladenov committed that the plan for Gaza's rehabilitation and the end of the war will provide Israel with "a security track unlike anything in the past."
In his remarks, he explained: "For the first time, Hamas and the armed factions in Gaza have agreed to surrender their weapons and transfer full authority for civilian and security governance to a transitional administration recognized by the UN and the United States. We now have an opportunity to dramatically improve life in a sustainable way for Palestinians in Gaza; to provide lasting security for Israelis; and to move from a conflict that has thrown the region off balance to an environment offering peace, prosperity, and economic opportunities for the entire Middle East."
Regarding the disarmament of the Strip, he announced and pledged: "The roadmap covers the dismantling of every category of weapon in Gaza. There is no gray area and no category left outside. Every withdrawal will occur following verified disarmament and will be implemented in stages. It is numbered and parallel. Each stage is based on successful completion of the preceding stage."
When asked about his trust in Hamas, Mladenov responded: "Progress is based on performance, not on timelines. Our approach during implementation will be to trust nothing and verify everything."
Regarding the necessary conditions for the process, he explained: "There are three things that must exist for us to move forward in the process, an international stabilization force must enter Gaza, Israel must fulfill the commitments it made under the agreement signed in Sharm el-Sheikh, and Hamas must meet its commitments on its side."
