A senior Hamas official said this Thursday, June 6, that the plan presented by Joe Biden last week did not constitute a “new proposal” for an agreement with Israel for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages.
“The truth is that there is no new proposal presented to Hamas,” Osama Hamdan, a senior official of the Palestinian Islamist movement based in Beirut and reached by telephone from the Strip, told AFP. from Gaza.
On May 31, US President Joe Biden presented the outlines of a phased plan for a complete ceasefire between the Israeli army and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including a gradual release of held hostages. in Gaza, presenting it as an Israeli road map.
“There is no proposal, these are just words spoken by (Joe) Biden in a speech,” said Osama Hamdan. “So far, the Americans have not presented any document that commits them to respecting what Biden said in his speech.”
Hamas demands withdrawal of Israeli troops
According to Osama Hamdan, the Democratic president “tried to conceal the Israeli rejection” of another agreement presented at the beginning of May which had been accepted by Hamas.
Hamas is ready to accept an agreement, Osama Hamdan said, if it understands the demands of the Palestinian movement, including a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deemed the plan presented by Joe Biden “incomplete,” according to an Israeli government spokesperson. On Thursday, the US president and 16 other leaders, mainly from Europe and Latin America, urged Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Negotiations underway for months
For months the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been engaged in negotiations to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip where the Israeli military campaign has left more than 36,654 dead in eight months according to the ministry. of Health of the Hamas government for Gaza.
The war was triggered by the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures. Of the 251 people taken as hostages on October 7, 120 are still detained in Gaza, of whom 41 are dead according to the Israeli army.
At the end of November, a one-week truce allowed the release of 105 hostages, including 80 Israelis and dual nationals, in exchange for that of 240 Palestinians detained by Israel.
Original article published on BFMTV.com
