CAIRO: A leading Sunni imam called Monday for an ideological battle against Daesh militants, including the deployment and training of moderate clerics in Europe to counter extremist thought.
“It primarily requires an intellectual treatment,” Abbas Shoman, the deputy sheikh of Egypt’s Al-Azhar institute, told AFP.
“It should not be limited to security treatment,” he said.
The cleric said Al-Azhar had advised French officials before Friday’s Paris attacks that moderate clerics were needed in France.
Al-Azhar’s head, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, condemned the bloody attacks that were claimed by Daesh, describing them as contrary to religion.
“The problem is, those who control religious discourse, they and their stances should be reviewed,” Shoman said.
“You must be certain that those in charge of religious discourse are not helping in the spread of terrorism,” he said.
Shoman said Al-Azhar has little presence in Europe, but the numbers of Europeans who have joined Daesh pointed to the presence of extremist preaching in the continent.
“You will find that these people lack in (Islamic) education, and have not been religious for long, and yet they consider what they’re doing is jihad,” he added.
Shoman, who described coalition air strikes against Daesh as “not serious” and warned against “punishing civilians,” said Al-Azhar could send clerics to France, or train them, to counter extremists.
“You have to open the path for moderate clerics, and Azhar is ready,” he said.
“And if we can’t guide the terrorists, at least we can protect other” Muslims.
Meanwhile, Egyptian security forces shot dead 24 Daesh militants in central Sinai, 70 km from the crash site of the Russian passenger plane the group claimed it brought down, security sources said on Monday.
Security sources said they killed the militants as they hid inside a cave in a mountainous area and that they arrested eight of them.
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Al-Azhar imam urges anti-terror ideological battle
Al-Azhar imam urges anti-terror ideological battle
Hamas seeks role for its police in Gaza
- Letter from Hamas assures its 40,000 civil servants and security forces that it is working to incorporate them into the new government
CAIRO: Hamas is seeking to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into a new US-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, sources say, a demand likely to be opposed by Israel as the militant group debates whether to surrender its arms.
Islamist group Hamas retains control of just under half of Gaza following an October ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump.
The agreement ties further Israeli troop withdrawals to Hamas giving up its weapons.
The 20-point plan to end the war, now in its second phase, calls for the governance of Gaza to be handed to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a Palestinian technocratic body with US oversight that is meant to exclude Hamas.
In a letter to staff on Sunday, seen by Reuters, Gaza’s Hamas-run government urged its more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel to cooperate with the NCAG but assured them it was working to incorporate them into the new government.
That would include the roughly 10,000-strong Hamas-run police force, four sources familiar with the matter said, a demand that has not been previously reported. Many of them have been patrolling Gaza as Hamas reasserts its grip in areas under its control.
It was not immediately clear whether Israel, which has adamantly rejected any Hamas involvement in Gaza’s future, would agree to the civil and security workers’ inclusion in the NCAG.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Sticking points
Hamas’ plans for its police force and workers point to wide gaps between Hamas and Israel, backed by the US, as Trump pushes ahead with his plans. Last week, Trump hosted a signing ceremony to establish his “Board of Peace” that will serve as a transitional administration to set the framework and coordinate funding for the redevelopment of Gaza. The framework includes a provision barring “foreign terrorist organizations” from participating in governance.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters the group was prepared to hand over governance to the 15-member NCAG and its chair, Ali Shaath, with immediate effect.
“We (have) full confidence that it will operate on the basis of benefiting from qualified personnel and not wasting the rights of anyone who worked during the previous period,” Qassem said, referring to the inclusion of the 40,000 personnel.
The four sources said Hamas is open to the NCAG restructuring ministries and sending some workers into retirement. Mass dismissals risked chaos, the sources said.
Hamas and NCAG Chair Shaath have not yet met in person to discuss governance, a Hamas official said. Shaath’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Another issue was whether Sami Nasman, the former Palestinian Authority general assigned to oversee security under the NCAG, would be able to operate effectively, a Palestinian official said.
Nasman, originally from Gaza, moved to the occupied West Bank after Hamas routed Palestinian Authority forces from the enclave in 2007 following a brief civil war. A Hamas court in Gaza later sentenced him in absentia, accusing him of instigating chaos. Nasman denies this.
Neutralizing arms
Trump’s administration wants to see heavy weapons decommissioned immediately, with “personal arms registered and decommissioned by sector as (the) NCAG police become capable of guaranteeing personal security,” according to a document shared by the White House last week. A US official said on Tuesday that Hamas fighters would be granted some sort of amnesty.
The militant group is still believed to possess rockets, which several diplomats estimated to number in the hundreds. It is also estimated to possess thousands of light weapons, including rifles.
Hamas recently agreed to discuss disarmament with other Palestinian factions and with mediators, sources said. However, two Hamas officials told Reuters that neither Washington nor the mediators had presented the group with any detailed or concrete disarmament proposal.
A Palestinian official close to the disarmament talks said the US had approached Hamas to explore potential disarmament mechanisms involving parties including Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye.
“Hamas has spoken about the possibility of neutralising arms, which could be achieved if there is a truce, and it is ready for a long-term ceasefire — five years or a little longer,” the official said.
“But Hamas strongly believes that a serious political negotiation process must begin on Palestinian statehood, whereby weapons and fighters would come under the authority of the State of Palestine,” the official said.
Hamas is not the only militant group in the enclave to possess arms. A source in a Gaza faction allied with Hamas said other groups were discussing disarmament but worried about being left defenseless.
In remarks to parliament on Monday, Netanyahu said that the next phase of the Gaza deal “is not reconstruction.”
Rather, he said, “the next phase is demilitarization of the Strip and disarming Hamas.”
Islamist group Hamas retains control of just under half of Gaza following an October ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump.
The agreement ties further Israeli troop withdrawals to Hamas giving up its weapons.
The 20-point plan to end the war, now in its second phase, calls for the governance of Gaza to be handed to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a Palestinian technocratic body with US oversight that is meant to exclude Hamas.
In a letter to staff on Sunday, seen by Reuters, Gaza’s Hamas-run government urged its more than 40,000 civil servants and security personnel to cooperate with the NCAG but assured them it was working to incorporate them into the new government.
That would include the roughly 10,000-strong Hamas-run police force, four sources familiar with the matter said, a demand that has not been previously reported. Many of them have been patrolling Gaza as Hamas reasserts its grip in areas under its control.
It was not immediately clear whether Israel, which has adamantly rejected any Hamas involvement in Gaza’s future, would agree to the civil and security workers’ inclusion in the NCAG.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Sticking points
Hamas’ plans for its police force and workers point to wide gaps between Hamas and Israel, backed by the US, as Trump pushes ahead with his plans. Last week, Trump hosted a signing ceremony to establish his “Board of Peace” that will serve as a transitional administration to set the framework and coordinate funding for the redevelopment of Gaza. The framework includes a provision barring “foreign terrorist organizations” from participating in governance.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters the group was prepared to hand over governance to the 15-member NCAG and its chair, Ali Shaath, with immediate effect.
“We (have) full confidence that it will operate on the basis of benefiting from qualified personnel and not wasting the rights of anyone who worked during the previous period,” Qassem said, referring to the inclusion of the 40,000 personnel.
The four sources said Hamas is open to the NCAG restructuring ministries and sending some workers into retirement. Mass dismissals risked chaos, the sources said.
Hamas and NCAG Chair Shaath have not yet met in person to discuss governance, a Hamas official said. Shaath’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Another issue was whether Sami Nasman, the former Palestinian Authority general assigned to oversee security under the NCAG, would be able to operate effectively, a Palestinian official said.
Nasman, originally from Gaza, moved to the occupied West Bank after Hamas routed Palestinian Authority forces from the enclave in 2007 following a brief civil war. A Hamas court in Gaza later sentenced him in absentia, accusing him of instigating chaos. Nasman denies this.
Neutralizing arms
Trump’s administration wants to see heavy weapons decommissioned immediately, with “personal arms registered and decommissioned by sector as (the) NCAG police become capable of guaranteeing personal security,” according to a document shared by the White House last week. A US official said on Tuesday that Hamas fighters would be granted some sort of amnesty.
The militant group is still believed to possess rockets, which several diplomats estimated to number in the hundreds. It is also estimated to possess thousands of light weapons, including rifles.
Hamas recently agreed to discuss disarmament with other Palestinian factions and with mediators, sources said. However, two Hamas officials told Reuters that neither Washington nor the mediators had presented the group with any detailed or concrete disarmament proposal.
A Palestinian official close to the disarmament talks said the US had approached Hamas to explore potential disarmament mechanisms involving parties including Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye.
“Hamas has spoken about the possibility of neutralising arms, which could be achieved if there is a truce, and it is ready for a long-term ceasefire — five years or a little longer,” the official said.
“But Hamas strongly believes that a serious political negotiation process must begin on Palestinian statehood, whereby weapons and fighters would come under the authority of the State of Palestine,” the official said.
Hamas is not the only militant group in the enclave to possess arms. A source in a Gaza faction allied with Hamas said other groups were discussing disarmament but worried about being left defenseless.
In remarks to parliament on Monday, Netanyahu said that the next phase of the Gaza deal “is not reconstruction.”
Rather, he said, “the next phase is demilitarization of the Strip and disarming Hamas.”
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