Hamas calls for implementing July agreement instead of new talks

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
12 Aug 2024 00:01
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The Palestinian Resistance group responds to the trilateral statement by Egypt, Qatar, and the US regarding negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange with "Israel".

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A Palestinian woman displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flees from Hamad City following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, August 11, 2024. (AP)

Hamas called on the mediators in Qatar and Egypt to present a plan for implementing the ceasefire agreement the movement approved on July 2 and compel "Israel" to comply with it instead of engaging in new rounds of negotiations.

This comes after US President Joe Biden, Qatar's Emir Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi released a couple of days ago a joint statement calling on "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance group to finalize the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in a meeting set for next week.

In response to the trilateral statement, Hamas affirmed on Saturday that since the onset of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, it has been committed to supporting the mediation efforts led by Egypt and Qatar to secure a ceasefire and end the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and has consistently backed any initiative that aims to halt the aggression.

It confirmed that it has engaged in numerous negotiation rounds and demonstrated all necessary flexibility and positivity to achieve the goals and interests of the Palestinian people, halt the bloodshed, and end the genocide.

According to the statement, these efforts were intended to pave the way for a prisoner exchange, provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people, facilitate the return of displaced persons, and rebuild the destruction caused by the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

In line with this approach, the movement accepted the mediators' proposal on May 6, 2024, and welcomed US President Joe Biden's announcement on May 31, 2024, alongside UN Security Council Resolution 2735, the statement recalled.

However, Hamas pointed out that the Israeli occupation met this approach with rejection, continuing its massacres against the Palestinian people and reiterating its stance that it was not serious about a permanent ceasefire, with its aggressive actions standing as clear evidence of this.

Despite Hamas' awareness, shared with the mediators in Egypt and Qatar, of the occupation’s true motives and the stance of its prime minister, the movement said it still responded to the latest agreement on July 2, 2024.

Yet, according to Hamas, the Israeli occupation met this by introducing new conditions that had not been raised throughout the negotiation process and escalated its aggression against the Palestinian people, committing further massacres, which culminated in the assassination of its political leader Ismail Haniyeh, which confirms "Israel's" intentions to continue the aggression and not reach a ceasefire agreement.

The Palestinian Resistance group said that even after the announcement of the trilateral statement, "Israel" committed a heinous crime, massacring displaced people at al-Taibeen school in Gaza's al-Daraj neighborhood during dawn prayers on August 10 and leaving more than one hundred civilians killed and over 250 others injured.

Hamas said that in light of these developments and out of a sense of responsibility and concern for the Palestinian people and their interests, it calls on the mediators to present a plan to implement what they proposed to the movement, which was agreed on, on July 2, based on Biden’s vision and the Security Council's resolution.

Elsewhere, the Palestinian Resistance group stressed that the mediators should compel "Israel" to comply with the plan, instead of pursuing further rounds of negotiations or new proposals that would provide cover for the occupation’s aggression and grant it more time to continue its genocide against the Palestinian people.