No. of Recommendations: 2
Disarmament and withdrawal plan built on 'zero trust' and with verification
published at 18:05
18:05
Shaimaa Khalil
North America correspondent, BBC News
The BBC has obtained the text of the four-page roadmap, which sets out a phased process linking Hamas's disarmament to a gradual Israeli military withdrawal and the deployment of a new Palestinian transitional authority backed by an international stabilisation force.
US officials said the plan was deliberately built on "zero trust" and with verification, with neither Hamas nor Israel moving to the next phase until the other has fulfilled its commitments.
They said smaller groups in Gaza would be disarmed first, before Hamas begins dismantling what they described as its state-like military infrastructure of tunnels, weapons depots and production facilities - a process they acknowledged would take considerably longer.
Once the phases of the roadmap have been completed, a new Palestinian authority would hold complete control over weapons in Gaza. Israel has not yet publicly commented.
