Trump Warns Hamas Faces Swift Destruction if It Refuses to Disarm in the Coming Weeks

U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that Hamas would face swift destruction if it fails to lay down its arms, delivering the remarks during a broad address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“We have peace in the Middle East,” he said.

Trump maintained that Hamas had agreed to disarm, despite public statements by the Palestinian terror group rejecting such a move.

“There are some little situations like Hamas, and Hamas has agreed to give up their weapons,” he asserted.

Acknowledging the difficulty of the demand, Trump added that Hamas’s long-standing reliance on armed violence complicates the process.

“They were born with a weapon in their hand, so it’s not easy to do,” Trump said.

Still, the president said he expects clarity soon on whether the group will comply. “That’s what they’ve agreed to, they’re going to do it,” he said. “And we’re going to know over the next two-three days, certainly the next three weeks, whether or not they’re going to do it.”

He followed with a blunt warning. “If they don’t do it, they’ll be blown away very quickly,” he said.

Trump also repeated his claim that dozens of countries are prepared to participate in a future International Stabilization Force for Gaza, emphasizing that many are eager to confront Hamas directly.

He said the “59 countries” interested in joining the force “want to come in and take out Hamas. They want to do whatever they can.”

Later, speaking to reporters at the start of his meeting with Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Davos, Trump doubled down on the threat. “If they don’t get rid of the guns, they’ll be very unhappy people. [They’re] going to have no choice. They will be eliminated,” he said.

The United States has faced difficulty persuading countries to commit troops to the proposed force, particularly amid uncertainty over whether Hamas would actually disarm and whether the Israel Defense Forces would continue withdrawing from Gaza. One country previously cited by Washington, Azerbaijan, announced earlier this month that it would not take part.

However, U.S. officials briefing reporters last week said sufficient commitments have now been secured and indicated that a formal announcement could come within roughly two weeks.

One of those briefings also appeared to confirm earlier reporting by The Times of Israel that the mission of the stabilization force has been narrowed, focusing on border security and humanitarian assistance rather than active military operations to disarm Hamas.

Under Trump’s Gaza peace framework, whose first phase took effect in October, the stabilization force is intended to assume responsibility for security in the Strip while the IDF gradually reduces its presence, which currently covers 53% of the territory.

{Matzav.com}