Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly rejected Hamas’ conditions for ending the ongoing conflict in Gaza on Sunday, stating that he “cannot accept” their demands.
The new development was based on a peace treaty proposed by Cairo for the militant group to release hostages kidnapped from Israel in exchange for the hostile attack in Gaza.
The peace call seemed to be threatened as recent comments from Israel and Hamas showed the level of disparity towards reaching an agreement.
Hamas’ political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement on Sunday that the group was “Still keen” to reach an agreement with mediators on the guarantee of an immediate and permanent cease-fire fight by Isreal.
Haniyah highlighted that the delegation carried “Positive and flexible positions aimed at stopping the aggression against our people, which is a fundamental and logical position that lays the foundation for a more stable future.
“The world has become a hostage to an extremist government, which has a huge number of political problems and crimes committed in Gaza,”.
He further accused the Israeli government of seeking to “Sabotage the efforts made through the mediators and various parties.”
In response Netanyahu said that Hamas’ demands at the Cairo discussion were unacceptable, noting that Israel had demonstrated a willingness to go a long way in the negotiation.
“Hamas remained entrenched in its extreme positions, chief among them the demand to withdraw all our forces from the strip, end the war, and leave Hamas intact, the State of Israel cannot accept this”, Netanyahu said.
“We are not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threatening the citizens of Israel in the surrounding settlements, in the cities of the south, in all parts of the country.
“Israel will not agree to Hamas’s demands, which mean surrender, and will continue the fighting until all its goals are achieved,” Netanyahu warned. CONTINUE READING
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