PIJ leader: Resistance ready to negotiate, but rejects surrender

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
Today 13:38
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PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah says the Resistance is willing to negotiate on limited terms, slamming parts of Trump's Gaza plan as surrender.

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Leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, addresses the Palestinian people and supporters in an address aired by Al Mayadeen, on October 8, 2025 (Al Mayadeen)

The Resistance is prepared to enter negotiations since “there are clauses that can be dealt with positively,” said Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, naming the prisoner-exchange clause as the foremost example.

Speaking in an address aired by Al Mayadeen Media Network on the second anniversary of Operation Al Aqsa Flood, al-Nakhalah stressed that the Palestinian Resistance is engaged in a ferocious negotiating battle while fighting on the battlefield.

"We are fighting the harshest battle and we will not surrender,” he declared, framing military and diplomatic resistance as essential to success in the current phase.

Conditional openness, prisoner exchange first

Al-Nakhalah made it clear that the Resistance's readiness to negotiate is limited and conditional. He said the movement “expressed readiness to negotiate on the basis that there are clauses that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner-exchange clause,” underlining prisoners as the primary bargaining chip and humanitarian priority.

He reiterated the movement’s continued commitment to securing an exchange that meets agreed criteria and preserves the Resistance’s leverage.

“Hamas and the Resistance factions insist that captives will only be freed under a committed, enforceable deal that ends the war,” he emphasized.

Rejection of Trump plan as enforced surrender

Al-Nakhalah sharply criticized the plan put forward by former US President Donald Trump, saying it carries therein the declaration of the Palestinian people’s full surrender to the Israeli enemy.

He warned "Israel" and its allies that Palestinians “cannot surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made” and accused the enemy of attempting to extract by negotiation what it could not achieve through war.

“If the enemy insists on achieving by negotiations what it could not achieve by war, then we must stand strong,” he said.

“The enemy and its allies threaten us continuously with killing and destruction if we do not surrender… have they not done that already?” the Resistance leader stressed.

'We must emerge with our heads held high'

Addressing the public and Resistance cadres, al-Nakhalah said that Palestine stands at a strategic crossroads but that the path of justice is clear.

“We must emerge from this battle with our heads held high,” he said.

He affirmed that the Palestinian people “will not raise the banners of surrender over Gaza” and insisted the struggle must preserve dignity and inherent rights.

“We are rightful owners [of our cause], and we must fight to reclaim our rights,” he underscored.

Commemoration: two years of steadfastness

On the anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, al-Nakhalah paid tribute to Palestinian steadfastness and the continued activity of Resistance factions.

“For two years, the Palestinian people have remained patient and defiant and refused to surrender. For two years, the valiant Palestinian Resistance has not ceased to fight the enemy and to inflict losses in the field day after day,” he said.

He added that the Palestinian people remain steadfast and that the Resistance “is still active on the ground.”

Al-Nakhalah argued that the aggression has mobilized global conscience in solidarity with Palestinians, while "Israel" continues to “kill and destroy everything,” and the people refuse to submit to “the killers and criminal Zionists.”

Negotiations ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh

The ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh follow nearly two years of indirect diplomacy aimed at ending "Israel’s" war on Gaza and securing a lasting truce.

Hamas, through its senior advisor Taher al-Nounou, has emphasized that the movement entered the talks with a “positive and responsible” approach to advance progress toward an agreement that ensures the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces and a full ceasefire. Al-Nounou confirmed that the latest round of talks saw the exchange of prisoner lists between both sides and noted that mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are exerting “serious efforts to remove obstacles” to the ceasefire’s implementation.

The negotiations revolve around a 20-point peace framework put forward by Trump, which outlines a phased truce, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of prisoners and captives. The US president described the talks as advancing at a “very rapid and highly successful pace” and confirmed that US envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are leading the American delegation in Egypt.

Hamas, while engaging constructively, has reaffirmed that any agreement must guarantee a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal, and the reconstruction of Gaza under Palestinian supervision. The movement has also linked aspects of Trump’s plan related to governance and sovereignty to broader national consensus discussions, reflecting the collective position of Palestinian Resistance factions that any post-war arrangements must uphold Palestinian rights and self-determination.