As discussions continue over the roadmap for Gaza’s future and its financial resources, Nikolay Mladenov, director-general of the International Peace Council, rejected claims that the Council had reached a $400 million agreement with Hamas.
In a statement on X, Mladenov said the proposal in question had not been discussed, negotiated or reviewed. He said such a proposal would not be considered in the future either, and announced that a mechanism had been established to monitor violations in Gaza.
Claim of a $400 million payment
The claim was made by Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party in Israel. Lieberman alleged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had approved an agreement between Mladenov and Hamas under which the International Peace Council would transfer $400 million to suppliers and service providers included on Hamas’s lists.
Mladenov said the International Peace Council was established under the Gaza plan of U.S. President Donald Trump and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803.
Mladenov argued that the two documents underpinning the Council’s establishment were publicly available. He said Hamas would have no role in governing Gaza and would not have access to the funds. Mladenov said Council resources would not be transferred through Hamas, that every contract would be reviewed and approved, that work carried out before payment would be audited, and that all accounts would remain fully open to oversight by donor governments.
Mechanism to monitor violations in Gaza
Mladenov said a mechanism had been established in recent days to track violations. He did not provide details on which parties would make up the mechanism tasked with addressing repeated violations.
Mladenov said the international stabilization force was designed to support disarmament and help establish a civilian administration in which Hamas would not participate. He said this approach had not changed since the beginning.
Disarmament condition in the Gaza plan
Mladenov reiterated that Hamas had accepted the roadmap for the second phase of Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected the 15-point plan for Gaza in an official statement on Sunday and insisted that Hamas surrender its weapons before Israel’s withdrawal.
Mladenov said the roadmap provided a working framework for an agreement between the International Peace Council and Hamas, and that talks with Israel were continuing. He said Israel was not expected to take confidence-building steps or make irreversible decisions without concrete developments on the ground.
Mladenov said the plan aimed to achieve the complete dismantling of weapons and prevent Gaza from posing a threat similar to the one Israel faced on Oct. 7. He argued that the alternatives were for Hamas to remain in power and rebuild its military capabilities, or for Israel to reestablish control over the entire population of Gaza.
Mladenov said the International Peace Council offered a third option involving complete disarmament, civilian governance, a U.S.-led international security presence, and the establishment of monitoring and verification mechanisms. Regarding the claims circulating in Israel, he said the process already faced enough real challenges and that no new claims should be generated.
Arrangements envisaged by the roadmap
Gazi Hamad, a Hamas official, said in an earlier statement that heavy weapons were expected to be stored under the responsibility of the national committee to be established to govern the Gaza Strip. Hamad said this process would be carried out simultaneously with the completion of all other issues and that the details were included in the roadmap.
The roadmap calls for governance of Gaza to be transferred to a committee of Palestinian technocrats, the deployment of an international stabilization force, and the placement of weapons under the responsibility of the national committee to be established to govern Gaza, under international supervision. The plan also includes Israel’s phased withdrawal and the implementation of reconstruction efforts.
In a statement issued after Mladenov’s meeting with Netanyahu, the International Peace Council said Israel would not fully withdraw from Gaza until heavy and light weapons and tunnels had been eliminated.
