U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Hamas has proposed several changes, some impractical, to the U.S.-backed agreement for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, but added that mediators are determined to narrow differences .
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, denied that the Palestinian Islamic group had come up with new ideas. In an interview with the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Araby, he reiterated Hamas’s position that it is Israel that rejects the proposals and accused the US government of supporting its ally.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said many of the changes proposed by Hamas are minor and “not unexpected,” while others differ substantially from what was outlined Monday in a U.N. Security Council resolution supporting of the plan presented by US President Joe Biden.
“Our goal is to bring this process to a conclusion. Our view is that the time for bargaining is over,” Sullivan told reporters.
Hamas also wants written guarantees from the United States on the ceasefire plan, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters.
Hamas issued a statement on Wednesday evening underlining its “positivity” in the negotiations and calling on the United States to pressure Israel to accept a deal that would lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as a complete withdrawal from the enclave , reconstruction and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The Palestinian group said that while U.S. officials said Israel accepted Biden’s May 31 ceasefire proposal, “we have not heard from any Israeli officials confirming that acceptance.”
Biden’s proposal calls for a truce and the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel in stages, ultimately leading to a permanent end to the war.
Source: Terra
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