Hamas made several modifications to Cairo proposal in a response
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Sources from the Palestinian Resistance detail to Al Mayadeen some of the contextual changes and additional clauses made by Hamas in its latest response.
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Al-Qassam Brigades Resistance fighters including Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson for the group, hold a press conference in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, Palestine, on December 25, 2010. (AP)
The Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas delivered its response to the latest proposal it received from mediators in Egypt and Qatar on Saturday evening, a high-ranking Palestinian Resistance official told Al Mayadeen.
Hamas' response included clauses on several issues disputed by the Israeli occupation's negotiators, the sources added.
Several clauses, pertaining to the first stage of the proposed deal, were modified by the Palestinian Resistance, including the main points relating to the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced Palestinians to their homes, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the detainees-to-captives ratio to be exchanged in the deal. According to the sources, modifications were also made to the second stage of the proposed deal, in which Hamas demanded a clear written item on a complete ceasefire.
Hamas confirmed that it did deliver a response to the mediators, saying that it will stand by the main demands it made in previous messages to mediators.
Read more: Sources reveal details of Cairo's proposal, Hamas' response: Exclusive
Haniyeh: We will not accept a deal that does not achieve our main demands
In an exclusive interview aired on Friday, the head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, told Al Mayadeen that the Palestinian Resistance group is adhering to the conditions it had set in negotiations and will not engage in any deal with "Israel" without their fulfillment.
Haniyeh emphasized the Resistance's insistence on the necessity of declaring a permanent and clear ceasefire in Gaza.
He made it clear that the Israeli occupation has not eliminated Hamas and shall not eliminate it, pointing out that the Israeli government has not retrieved its captives held in Gaza and shall not retrieve them except through "an honorable deal."
The Palestinian leader affirmed the Resistance's insistence on the complete withdrawal and the return of the displaced people to Gaza without any conditions or barriers, in addition to the conditions regarding relief and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, leading to a prisoner exchange deal.
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