Saudi Arabia and UAE Draw the Line: No Gaza Reconstruction Until Hamas Disarms

© UNRWA Destruction in northern Gaza.

By Ahmed Fathi

New York – Frankly, I fully support the decision by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to freeze funding for Gaza’s reconstruction until Hamas is disarmed, and full civilian control is restored. This is not an act of cruelty—it’s a practical and necessary step to break the endless cycle of destruction and rebuilding that has repeated for more than two decades, while the Palestinian people keep paying the price every single time.

Hamas is no longer a purely local movement. It has become part of a complex regional network in which Iran plays the role of financier, trainer, and weapons supplier. That reality makes any armed group claiming to be a “resistance” force a direct threat to genuine progress and development, because decisions of war and peace end up serving foreign agendas rather than the welfare of Palestinians. Gaza, in that equation, becomes a proxy battleground instead of a national project that belongs to its own people.

The same applies to Hezbollah in Lebanon. What’s still called “resistance” there has long stopped serving any national purpose—it has turned into an Iranian arm that feeds the logic of endless conflict and thrives on people’s suffering. These groups have mastered the art of turning tragedy into influence, operating like mercenaries ready to fight anyone’s war as long as the money and political leverage flow their way. And the people—Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians—are the ones left to bury their dead and start from zero.

I’m not against helping the people of Gaza—far from it. But aid must come with real conditions: disarm all factions, separate governance from militancy, enforce accountability, and build a long-term plan that ensures what’s built today isn’t destroyed tomorrow by another reckless act. Without that, reconstruction becomes nothing more than a bandage on an open wound—something to make the world feel better, but not something that heals.

What Gaza needs is not another round of concrete and slogans—it needs protection from those who claim to defend it.