The head of Hamas's political office, Ismail Haniyeh, said this Tuesday (30) that the group is studying the proposed agreement presented to it by Qatar, the mediating country, and that it will respond soon, although it has demanded total withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
“The movement is open to discussing any serious and practical initiative or idea, as long as it leads to a complete cessation of aggression,” Haniyeh said in a statement released by the terrorist organization.
The heads of the secret services of Israel, the United States and Egypt, as well as the Prime Minister of Qatar, reached this Monday (29), after meeting in Paris for two days, a proposal for an agreement for a new truce and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an initiative that was passed on last night to the political leadership of Hamas.
Haniyeh, who has lived in self-exile in Qatar for years, confirmed that the group received the proposal and that it will soon present its response based on the priority of stopping the “aggression” against Gaza and the complete withdrawal of troops from the Strip.
The Hamas leader also stated that any agreement with Israel must guarantee the return to their homes of the almost two million Gazans who have been displaced by the violence, the majority of them in the Rafah area, on the border with Egypt.
Furthermore, Haniyeh demanded a serious prisoner exchange process, after in the previous week-long truce agreement reached in November, Hamas handed over 105 hostages in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The Hamas leader also confirmed that the group's leadership was invited to Cairo to discuss the draft agreement reached at the Paris meeting, as well as the requirements for its implementation.
After the meeting in Paris, the USA and Qatar were optimistic about the possibilities of reaching an agreement, although Israel stressed that the road to an agreement is long and regretted that there were “unacceptable aspects” in the proposal, in reference to the requirement of total withdrawal of its troops and the end of the war.
The Israeli government is not willing to stop the war, despite growing pressure from the families of those kidnapped to negotiate an agreement at any price for the release of the 132 hostages remaining inside the Strip, of whom 28 are estimated to be dead.
In the first truce, held last year, Israel stated that the Palestinian militia did not obey the temporary ceasefire, which led to the end of the agreement between the sides in the conflict and the continuation of operations.
#Hamas #studies #truce #Israel #demands #troops #leave #Gaza