Hamas movement strongly denounced a statement by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accusing it of rejecting Israel’s “generous” ceasefire proposal”.
On Friday, Blinken accused Hamas of “standing between the Gazan people and a ceasefire”.
He also claimed that Hamas has “rejected generous proposals from Israel”.
The same accusations were repeated by Washington, with US State Department spokesperson Matthew Millar saying on Monday: “There was a deal on the table that would achieve much of what Hamas claims it wants to achieve, and they have not taken that deal.”
In a statement, Hamas described Blinken’s remarks as “blatant bias” to ‘Israel’ and “a falsification of reality” that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is the one behind obstructing the talks “for his personal political interests”.
“The Hamas Movement’s negotiating behavior was based on the interest of our Palestinian people and the priority of stopping the brutal aggression against them, the withdrawal of the Israeli army, the return of the displaced, and ending their human suffering created by the American-funded killing machine,” Hamas further added in the statement.
Instead of its accusations, Hamas said the US must pressure ‘Israel’ and “halt the US political and military cover for the crimes of genocide and starvation practiced by the Nazi occupation against defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas Framework
Hamas stressed the American deal fell short of what Hamas deems acceptable. In Hamas’s framework, phase one would see a “temporary cessation of hostilities” and the return of Palestinians to residential areas of northern Gaza.
The second phase would start with a permanent ceasefire taking effect and Israeli troops withdrawing from the Gaza Strip completely.
In phase three, Israel totally lifts the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since 2007 and a five-year reconstruction plan begins.
Notably, the negotiations is facing serious difficulties when it came to many issues such as the displaced people, humanitairian aid, and the prisoners’ swap.
First of all, Hamas wants Turkey and Russia to be guarantors, not the US, because the movement has seen America as a partner and strong supporter of the war, and it is obviously managing the negotiations from an Israeli perspective and for Israeli interests, Sari Orabi, expert and researcher, clarified.
Regarding prisoners’ swap, Hamas wants legal guarantees for the freed prisoners with confirmation to release everyone who ‘Israel’ freed then rearrested following the 2011 Gilad Shalit exchange. It also demands better conditions for Palestinian prisoners, Hamas Official Bassem Naim stressed.
Hamas wants a mass and unconditional return of displaced Palestinians to their homes in the north. On the other hand, the American deal suggests a “conditional return” of displaced Palestinians with conditional move into designated areas that would be predetermined on maps by Israeli army.
It is necessary, according to Hamas, to let the humanitairian aid flow into Gaza through international agencies like UNRWA which ‘Israel’ has been banned its operation in the north. ‘Israel’, however, insists on maintaining its strict controls on what enters Gaza.
Global calls for a ceasefire have been growing as the war has entered its seventh month with the US, Qatar and Egypt have tried to broker an agreement to release the remaining Israeli captives. However, no breakthroughs have been reached, so far.
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