Mladenov: Hamas disarmament could pave way for PA return to Gaza

The demilitarization of Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations will allow for Gaza, Judea and Samaria to be united under “one reformed Palestinian National Authority,” Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, said on Wednesday.

Gaza’s disarmament would represent a “decisive break from cycles of violence” that have defined life in the Strip “for decades,” Mladenov told a U.N. Security Council meeting focused on the implementation of Resolution 2803, which endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

Demilitarization would “create the conditions for a unified and accountable Palestinian security structure, restore and single transitional authority and allow for Gaza and the West Bank to be reunited,” the envoy said.

The Board of Peace’s High Commissioner for Gaza tells the U.N. Security Council that “the laying down of arms by militant actors would represent a decisive break from cycles of violence that have defined life in Gaza for decades.” pic.twitter.com/jsbsYuGRkg

— Board of Peace (@BoardOfPeace) March 25, 2026

Washington’s peace plan tasks the transitional National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) with running civil affairs in Gaza “until such time as the Palestinian Authority has completed its reform program.

“While Gaza re-development advances and when the P.A. reform program is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people,” it adds.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told the Security Council last month that “the P.A.—just like Hamas—is brainwashing the minds of the next generation to hate Jews.”

“The U.S. State Department reported to Congress that the P.A. committed to paying over $200 million in salaries to terrorists in 2025 alone—significantly more than 2024,” the top diplomat also said.

While P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas recently “dismissed his finance minister to shift the blame for pay-for-slay on him,” Sa’ar charged, “their new finance minister admitted a week ago that pay-for-slay will continue despite their financial difficulties.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled opposed the possibility of the P.A. controlling Gaza the “day after” Hamas, and has ruled out the creation of a Palestinian state, despite having agreed to the peace plan in October.

“Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory west of the Jordan River exists, is firm, and has not changed in the slightest,” Netanyahu reiterated on Nov. 16, 2025.

The Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem did not respond to a JNS request for comment on Mladenov’s remarks by press time on Thursday morning.

Asked in September 2025 about Ramallah’s inclusion in Trump’s peace plan, the premier casted doubt on the prospects for reform, saying, “If all of that is turned on its head, there’s a tremendous transformation.”

“Good luck,” Netanyahu told Fox News‘s “The Sunday Briefing” program. “Some people will believe it happens. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”