Resistance source reveals amendments to Gaza ceasefire plan: Exclusive

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
13 Jun 2024 00:21
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A private Resistance source tells Al Mayadeen that Hamas stressed its firm positions regarding a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces.

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Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and PIJ Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhalah discuss the Palestinian factions' response to the US proposal regarding a ceasefire in Gaza. (Hamas Media Office)

The paper that Hamas presented on Tuesday to the mediators regarding a ceasefire in Gaza is not much different from what it had previously agreed to on May 6, a private Resistance source told Al Mayadeen on Wednesday.

The source said that Hamas stressed its firm positions regarding a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces, but added the necessity of withdrawing from the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphia Axis, pointing out that the Palestinian Resistance movement stressed the necessity of the interconnectivity of the three phases.

According to the source, the main problem is "Israel's" insistence on vetoing a number of prisoners with life sentences to be released as part of the ceasefire deal.

In addition, the private source told Al Mayadeen that Hamas' proposal demanded that "Israel" disclose the status of Palestinians its occupation forces detained from Gaza since October 7, 2023, insisting on a legal guarantee that those released will not be re-detained or tried on previous charges.

Elsewhere, the source said that Hamas stressed the need to revert conditions at Israeli prisons to their state before October 7.

A joint delegation from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), led by Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and PIJ Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhalah, announced on Tuesday that it delivered the Palestinian Resistance factions' response regarding the ceasefire proposal to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Hamas and the PIJ indicated that the response to the ceasefire proposal prioritizes the interests of the Palestinian people and the necessity of completely halting the ongoing aggression on Gaza, adding they were ready "to engage positively to reach an agreement that ends this war."

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday that the proposal discusses a ceasefire in Gaza but does not specify that it is permanent, whereas the US President had spoken about a permanent ceasefire. "We have amended this," he said.

"Our response is our commitment to what we previously committed to, a ceasefire and [complete] withdrawal from Gaza," Hamdan affirmed.

US diverts the blame on Hamas

Moreover, the Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas, released a statement, early on Thursday, explaining that its negotiating teams dealt positively with the proposals of mediators, however, the occupation's government, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has consistently maneuvered to avoid agreeing to said proposals.

It also emphasized that it relayed a positive position on the deal announced by US President Joe Biden on May 31. Hamas' positive responses were met with Israeli insistent on the continuation of the genocidal war on Gaza, the movement added.

In a similar context, Hamas had also welcomed the latest UNSC resolution and its clauses. Hamas had also conveyed to mediators that it is ready to engage in indirect negotiations with the Israeli government on the implementation of the clauses listed by the UNSC earlier on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the occupation, once again, did not welcome the resolution of the UNSC and continued to reject any notion of a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, actions that clearly contradict Biden's initiative and the UNSC decision, the movement emphasized.

Hamas criticized US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's attempt to absolve the Zionist occupation and divert blame onto the movement. Hamas condemned Blinken for trying to wash his hands of the blood of innocent children, women, and the elderly.

The movement labeled this as a continuation of American complicity in the brutal genocide against the Palestinian people, providing the occupation with complete political and military support.

In this context, Hamas called on Blinken and the Biden administration to exert pressure on the occupation government, which is bent on continuing its mission of killing and genocide in blatant violation of international laws and treaties.

Some requested changes workable, some are not: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Wednesday that "instead of responding positively to the [ceasefire] proposal, they [Hamas] are demanding far-reaching changes to the agreement."

"Some of Hamas' changes go beyond what was previously agreed upon, but we will continue to push for the implementation of the deal. I believe that these gaps can be bridged," he indicated in a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart in Doha.

"We believe that some of the requested changes are workable and some are not," Blinken mentioned, but pointed out "that doesn't mean they will be bridged because, ultimately, Hamas has to decide."

He claimed that "Israel" and the international community accepted the recent ceasefire proposal deal almost identical to Hamas' May 6 proposal, adding that, instead of agreeing to the deal, the Palestinian group "waited nearly two weeks and then proposed more changes."

But Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not formally endorsed the ceasefire proposal and has ministers who have vowed to stop the deal.

Blinken warned that "the longer this goes on, the more people will suffer, and it's time for the haggling to stop."

Elsewhere, the top US diplomat revealed that Washington will present plans for post-war Gaza in the coming weeks, stressing that "Hamas must not be allowed to decide the future of the region."

Parroting Blinken's remarks, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan claimed that many of Hamas’ proposed changes "are minor and not unanticipated," while "others differ more substantially from what was outlined in the UN Security Council resolution," adding that the US will work with mediators Egypt and Qatar to bridge differences regarding the proposal.

Responding to Blinken, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan denied to Al-Araby TV that the movement had introduced new ideas for the ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip, adding that the US Secretary of State was "part of the problem, not the solution."