Once again, Hamas has made its intentions crystal clear—and once again, the world will pretend not to hear them.

Speaking Sunday at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal rejected outright any possibility of disarming as part of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, instead doubling down on war, jihad, and the violent “resistance” that led to the slaughter of 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7.

“We will defeat our enemy, Israel, Allah willing,” Mashaal vowed.

Trump’s 20-point roadmap calls for Hamas to lay down its arms under a Phase 2 stabilization plan—backed by the US and Arab partners—which would involve an international force entering the Gaza Strip and a transitional Palestinian body formed without Hamas participation.

Mashaal’s reply was clear: Never.

“As long as our people are under occupation [sic],” he told the forum, “talk of disarmament is an attempt to turn our people into victims, to make their elimination easier.”

He went on to defend Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre—calling it a strategic victory that “returned the Palestinian cause to the forefront” and made its resolution “a necessity.” No mention was made of the 251 hostages taken. No apology. No regret. Only pride.

Disarmament was never on the table

Though President Trump claimed last month at Davos that “Hamas had agreed to give up their weapons,” this latest speech is just the latest in a long line of categorical rejections by Hamas leaders.

“Not for a single moment did we talk about surrendering weapons,” senior official Musa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera on January 28.

Mashaal had already made that position clear at a December summit in Istanbul, declaring that Hamas’s weapons were “the honor and pride” of the Islamic nation and a sacred right of “resistance.”

On Sunday, he reiterated that “resistance is the right of occupied peoples”—explicitly framing Hamas’s actions on October 7, including the slaughter of women and children, as both justified and praiseworthy.

Still courted, still platformed

That this speech was delivered in Qatar, on stage at the Al Jazeera Forum, should surprise no one. Doha continues to shelter Hamas leaders, bankroll their operations, and dress up their ideology in media-friendly packaging.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry rightly condemned the forum ahead of time as a “gathering of jihadists and their support staff.”

Welcome to The @AlJazeera Forum, a select gathering of jihadists and their support staff. You can hear US sanctioned haters like @FranceskAlbs and Foreign Minister @araghchi of the state sponsor of terror, Iran.

Come dialogue with terror mastermind Khaled Mashal and other… pic.twitter.com/8yMMfqjKHh

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) February 5, 2026

The invitation list proves the point: Iranian officials, sanctioned UN operatives, and terror leaders like Mashaal—given not only legitimacy, but applause.

“Qatar is a small country,” Mashaal said, “but its role is great and respected.”

Indeed, it is. Respected by Hamas. Resented by Israel. And, for now, tolerated by Washington.

But the bigger issue is not Qatar. It is the international refusal to listen to what Hamas says plainly.

Hamas’s plan is not peace

While the US continues to advance proposals to stabilize and reconstruct Gaza under the assumption that Hamas is on the way out—or on the way to moderation—Mashaal’s speech makes clear that the group has no intention of going quietly. Or going at all.

They are not signaling flexibility.

They are openly preparing for the next war.

“The resistance and its weapons are the ummah’s honor and pride,” Mashaal said in December. Sunday’s speech only reaffirmed it.

He also rejected the Trump-backed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, calling it a form of “foreign rule” and declaring that “we do not accept the logic of guardianship.”

In other words: No to disarmament. No to outside governance. No to coexistence. Yes to endless war.

A question with an answer

The world continues to ask: How can there be peace if Hamas won’t compromise?

But Mashaal answered that. And so did Abu Marzouk. And so has Hamas, in word and deed, every month since October 7—and for many years before.

They don’t want peace. They want victory.

They don’t want coexistence. They want elimination.

They do not view October 7 as a stain—they view it as a template.

And until that reality is acknowledged, every peace plan will be a fantasy, and every ceasefire an intermission.

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