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WASHINGTON — The success of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip ultimately comes down to whether Hamas can be persuaded to give up its weapons. But as the Palestinian militant group maintains a hard-line stance of no disarmament, Trump administration officials are starting to temper expectations of a deal in the foreseeable future. 

“It's not realistic to think everyone's just going to walk in, drop their arms and say, ‘Hey, there you go,’” a senior US adviser speaking on condition of anonymity said Wednesday. 

During the war and in the weeks following Trump’s unveiling of a 20-point plan to end it, various Hamas officials described disarming as a red line they are unwilling to cross. Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior member of Hamas' political office based in Doha, told Al-Monitor in a statement that arrangements for Gaza’s post-war period will require “a unified Palestinian national position and broad consultations with the various factions.”