Board of Peace: Hamas is rebuilding tunnels in Gaza
Nickolay Mladenov told the UN Security Council that both Israel and Hamas are jeopardizing Gaza's fragile ceasefire
Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza, spoke before the United Nations Security Council, criticizing both Israel and Hamas for actions he said are undermining the ceasefire and risking its collapse.
Mladenov said Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza had agreed to hand over their weapons and transfer full civilian and security governing authority to a transitional administration recognized by the UN. Weapons are to be removed from factional control and placed in the custody of a transitional national committee for the administration of Gaza, to be rendered unusable under international supervision.
The withdrawal process is sequenced and reciprocal, the high representative explained, with each phase dependent on the successful completion of the one before it. The national committee, composed of independent Palestinian professionals, would vet every police officer it hires.
Mladenov said Israel is not a signatory to the roadmap and was never asked to be one, but had been asked to reaffirm its commitments under the comprehensive plan and the Sharm el-Sheikh protocol. The high representative said Israel has reaffirmed that framework, though important questions of implementation remain open.
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Nevertheless, Israeli strikes have continued since the roadmap's acceptance and Palestinian civilians are still being killed. Mladenov argues that force used outside the de-confliction mechanism "costs the process something very hard to buy back." He questioned whether further strikes on munitions depots would stop Hamas from rearming, saying such strikes only delay demilitarization and obstruct the civilian transition needed to prevent future remilitarization.
Mladenov said Hamas has committed to ending all military activity but has yet to fully meet that commitment, warning that every weapon still carried, tunnel still worked on, and convoy still obstructed sets the process back and strengthens the argument of those who want to resume the war. He argues Palestinian civilians, women and children in particular, would bear the consequences.