The head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, said that there is no concession to a permanent cessation of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, stressing that the Palestinian people will not accept an alternative to resistance, while a senior Israeli official confirmed that there is no truce without the prisoners.
Haniyeh added – in a speech at the Arab National Conference held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut – that “regarding what is said about a new Zionist position on the exchange and ceasefire deal, the resistance has once again informed the mediators that the established rules of the position of the resistance factions cannot be given up,” according to a statement by the movement.
Haniyeh explained that the rules are a permanent cessation of aggression, the occupation’s withdrawal from Gaza, the lifting of the siege, reconstruction, and an honorable deal for exchange.
He stressed that the great sacrifices and changes must be invested in the interest of the Palestinian cause and move forward towards completing the liberation and return project, as he put it.
The head of Hamas’ political bureau explained that the liberation project is based on the formation of a unified national leadership within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a national consensus government in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
He continued that the liberation project is also based on holding general presidential and legislative elections and forming a Palestinian National Council.
Haniyeh called for coming up with an integrated plan of action based on the concept that the post-October 7 stage differs from what came before it, noting that the Al-Aqsa flood raised the Palestinian issue to an unprecedented level globally, and opened the door to embodying recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people.
There is no truce without the prisoners
On the other hand, a senior Israeli official said, “If Hamas believes that it can dictate conditions or reach a ceasefire through blackmail, then it is mistaken.”
Reuters quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that there will be no truce or any cessation of fighting in Gaza unless it is part of an agreement on the release of detainees.
The official indicated that there is a proposed proposal that includes arrangements for a truce, and that in the event of no response to this offer, “Israel will proceed with an intense war in Gaza, and with the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure,” he said.
Yesterday, Thursday, the Hamas movement announced – in a statement – that it had informed the mediators of its readiness to reach a full agreement that includes a comprehensive exchange deal “if the occupation stops its war and aggression against our people in Gaza.”
This statement comes in the movement’s first comment on the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation’s announcement, last Tuesday, that Tel Aviv handed over to Egyptian and Qatari mediators its proposal to renew prisoner exchange negotiations with Hamas and a ceasefire in Gaza.
With the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, Hamas and Israel have been conducting faltering indirect negotiations for months to reach an agreement to exchange prisoners and end the war on Gaza that broke out on October 7, 2023.
Efforts to reach the latest deal were hampered after Israel rejected it, claiming that it did not meet its conditions, and began a military operation on the city of Rafah on May 6, then took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing the next day.
Israel continues this war, ignoring a resolution from the UN Security Council demanding that it stop the fighting immediately, and orders from the International Court of Justice demanding that it stop its attack on Rafah, take immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide, and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.