CAIRO (Reuters) – Hamas cannot agree to any deal unless Israel makes a “clear” commitment to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a senior official from the Palestinian militant group said on Tuesday .
Qatar, which alongside the United States and Egypt has been mediating talks between Hamas and Israel, also urged Israel to provide a clear position that has the support of its entire government to reach an agreement.
“We cannot agree to an agreement that does not ensure, guarantee and guarantee a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the conclusion of a truly serious swap agreement,” he said. Osama Hamdana Hamas official, in a televised press conference.
A three-phase proposal presented by US President Joe Biden on Friday involved in its first phase a six-week ceasefire, when Israeli forces would withdraw from “all populated areas” of Gaza and take some hostages. – including elderly people and women – would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Under that plan, Hamas and Israel would negotiate at the same stage a permanent ceasefire that Biden said would last “as long as Hamas meets its commitments.”
In the second phase, Biden said there would be an exchange of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, that Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and that a permanent ceasefire would begin.
Hamdan said: “Israel just wants a phase where it takes all its hostages and then resumes aggression and war against our people.”
“We ask the mediators to obtain a clear position from the Israeli occupation to commit to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal,” he added.
Hamas previously said it viewed the content of the proposal positively.
The United States said on Sunday that if Hamas accepted the proposed plan it expected Israel to do the same.
The third phase of the proposal would include a major reconstruction plan for the enclave, which was devastated by eight months of war, and the return of the remains of dead hostages to their families.
(Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Deepa Babington)
