The Palestine Chronicle / August 20, 2024
The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas issued a statement on Tuesday regarding the Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
The Hamas position was revealed following claims by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted the new US proposal.
Only hours after Blinken’s announcement, Netanyahu returned to reaffirm his previous conditions, insisting that the war on Gaza will not stop.
Hamas’ clarifications
Hamas confirmed on Tuesday in the clarification, a copy of which was obtained by Al-Jazeera, its commitment and immediate readiness to implement what it agreed to on July 2.
What Hamas had agreed on back then was based on a speech made by US President Joe Biden and the UN Security Council resolution that followed.
Hamas’s latest statement was issued by Bassem Naim, a top member of the movement’s political bureau.
It stated that Biden’s declaration on May 31 – which is essentially an Israeli proposal, according to the US President himself – and Security Council Resolution 2735 of June 11 stipulated the following (as part of the first phase in three phases of a ceasefire agreement):
Immediate, complete and complete ceasefire.
Withdrawal of Israeli forces to the border areas.
The return of the displaced to their homes in all areas of the Gaza Strip unconditionally.
Adequate and safe access to humanitarian aid and temporary housing.
An exchange deal between the two parties.
Negotiations during the first phase must lead to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas said it had welcomed Biden’s announcement and the Security Council resolution. It delivered its response approving the mediators’ proposal on July 2.
Israeli rejection
But Netanyahu’s response to all these initiatives and proposals, according to the movement’s statement, was more massacres and killings. They include the massacre of Mawasi, the assassination of the movement’s head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and the massacre of the Tabaeen school in the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza.
Hamas added that Netanyahu had added new conditions for negotiation, including:
Not to withdraw from the Rafah crossing.
Not to withdraw from the Philadelphia axis.
Not to withdraw from the Netzarim axis.
Inspect refugees returning to their homes from south to north.
Changing what was agreed upon regarding the prisoner exchange deal, thus emptying the deal of its content.
Linking humanitarian aid and reconstruction to the approval of the above conditions.
Among other conditions.
Hamas said the US administration and the international community were required to “put an end to this and to pressure Netanyahu and his fascist government to stop the aggression and sign a ceasefire agreement.”
‘Misleading’
Earlier in the day, Hamas said it had followed with “astonishment and disapproval” US President Biden’s remarks in which he claimed that Hamas was backing away from the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
In an official statement, Hamas added that statements of Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken included “misleading allegations and do not reflect the reality of our position,” which is keen to reach a halt to the aggression on Gaza.
The Palestinian group stressed that Biden and Blinken’s statements come within the framework of “the American bias towards the Israeli occupation and partnership in aggression and the war of genocide” against the people of Gaza.
Hamas called their remarks “an American green light for the Zionist extremist government to commit more crimes against civilians.”
Blinken’s remarks
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday following 3-hour talks with Netanyahu in Israel that the Israeli prime minister accepted the updated US proposal aimed at bringing the views of the parties closer.
However, Blinken didn’t disclose the contents of the proposal.
However, Israeli media on Tuesday cited Netanyahu as saying:
We will not accept a proposal that includes ending the war.
We will not withdraw in any way from the Philadelphia and Netzarim axes despite the enormous pressure.
The United States presented its new proposal to “bridge the gaps” between Hamas and Israel during negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha last Thursday and Friday.
Israel’s Channel 12 quoted Israeli sources regarding the new US proposal:
It meets most of Israel’s demands without resolving the dispute over the Philadelphia and Netzarim axes.
The number and names of detainees to be released in the first phase shall be determined.
It includes releasing Israeli women and soldiers first and living detainees.
The list of Palestinian prisoners includes the names of 47 prisoners released under the exchange deal of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who were later re-imprisoned by Israel.
