2024-04-26 13:08:49
A senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that the movement is ready to agree to a truce of 5 years or more with Israel, and that it will lay down its arms and turn to political action if an independent Palestinian state is established on the 1967 borders.
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said, “Hamas wants to join the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is headed by the Fatah movement, to form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank.”
He added: “Hamas will accept the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with international resolutions on the 1967 borders. If this happens, the movement’s military wing will be dissolved.”
He cited “the experiences of those who struggled against the occupiers when they gained independence and obtained their rights and their state. What did these forces do?” “It has turned into political parties, and the fighting forces defending it have turned into the national army.”
Al-Hayya’s statements came in an interview conducted on Wednesday, amid a months-long stalemate in ceasefire talks.
The disarmament proposal represents a major shift on the part of Hamas, which has confirmed on more than one occasion that it seeks to “destroy Israel.”
But Israel, which vowed to eliminate Hamas in the wake of the October 7 attacks, is unlikely to contemplate such a scenario.
The current Israeli leadership strongly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the United States used its veto in the Security Council on a draft resolution to establish a Palestinian state, despite its continued calls for a two-state solution.
Last updated: April 25, 2024 – 09:16
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2024-04-26 13:08:49