The Hamas leadership held intense internal discussions in the last 36 hours and reached the decision to redraft the document it submitted on March 14 without any changes, as was published this morning (Wednesday) in the “Al-Akhbar” newspaper.
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Sources inside the negotiations in Gaza, quoted by the editor of the newspaper Ibrahim Al-Amin, claim that the Hamas leadership has come to the conclusion that Israel is not interested in facilitating an agreement that would guarantee a practical ceasefire and the end of the war in Gaza. According to the publication, the pressure exerted on Hamas by all the Arab and international mediators will not succeed in changing this position.
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The sources said that the mediators, including the Americans, were given a position according to which Hamas is not ready to give up the demand for a clear mechanism with timetables for ending the war in a comprehensive way. It is also claimed that Hamas is no longer concerned about Israel’s threats regarding the expansion of the war and the entry into Rafah.
Among other things, it is written that the military arm of Hamas has already been prepared with “plans for a confrontation with any operation in Rafah”, and even for an unnecessary raid from one direction. Also, the sources said that it is possible that the Hamas delegation that left Cairo will not quickly return to the Egyptian capital – and will be content with handing over a new document to mediators from Egypt and Qatar (the March 14 version is unchanged).
Rafih (Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
The sources also said that Hamas informed the mediators that they are no longer interested in any discussion but in deciding on key issues – 1. An explicit declaration of a final ceasefire in the entire Gaza Strip. 2. Completion of the process of the withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip. 3. Extensive assistance with a comprehensive and “safe” return of Gazans to their homes (in the north of the Gaza Strip, for example). This is in addition to the beginning of the clearing of the ruins, the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and the provision of temporary shelter to the displaced. 4. Achieving a hostage deal that includes the proportional release of terrorists according to clear criteria.
The “Al-Akhbar” newspaper also published the draft of Hamas from March 14, which includes three stages. Among other things, it stated that each truce would last six weeks and that the first phase would include a “temporary pause” in military operations and the cessation of aircraft flights and the redeployment of Israeli forces.