Hamas announced Monday evening that it was rejecting the new American proposal for a hostage release agreement formulated in Doha, which Israel had accepted. “A short time ago, we informed the mediators that the organization sticks to the position it expressed on March 14,” the terrorist group said in a statement.
“Israel has not responded to any of our basic demands: a complete ceasefire, withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced people and an exchange of prisoners.” “Netanyahu and his extremist government bear full responsibility for the failure of the negotiation efforts,” accuses Hamas.
An Israeli official said Sunday evening that Israel had agreed to release 700 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in the Jewish state in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7 and since held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Of the 700 terrorists, around a hundred are serving life sentences for murder.
The Israeli government was also willing to consider another aspect of the American compromise proposal: that of the gradual return of residents of northern Gaza to the tune of several thousand per day, while avoiding the return of young men likely to join the ranks of the Hamas. Israel, however, continues to oppose any definitive ceasefire and the withdrawal of its troops, as demanded by the terrorist organization.
“Hamas knows it is supported for the moment and has no interest in freeing hostages”
For Raphaël Jerusalmy, former Israeli intelligence officer, “Hamas knows it is supported for the moment and has no interest in freeing hostages, which is why it is asking for the maximum price, namely the total withdrawal of the IDF of the Gaza Strip. According to him, “the terrorist organization knows it is supported, firstly by the UN resolutions in its favor, and also because it knows that there is water in the gas between Israel and the States -United”. “The only hope,” he adds, “is that Hamas will release sick hostages who are a burden to it. But even for that, Israel will have to pay a disproportionate price.”
