‘Hamas Serious About Reaching Agreement, Will Not Yield to US Pressure’
A senior official of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the movement is serious about reaching an agreement on ceasefire in Gaza, but will not give in to any pressure from the United States.
Sami Abu Zuhri made the remarks in a Sunday press statement, confirming that Hamas has received Israel’s response to its proposed deal through mediators and is studying it.
“The occupation’s response that we received through mediators is under study, but it is too early to reach a decision regarding it,” he said.
Abu Zuhri emphasized, “The movement will not accept any agreement that does not include stopping the Israeli occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip.”
The Hamas official also stressed that the movement has “assured the brothers in Egypt and Qatar that it is serious about reaching an agreement, but it will not yield to any American pressure.”
His comments came after on Saturday, the deputy chief of Hamas said in a statement that the movement had received Israel’s response through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
“Hamas has received today the official response of the Zionist occupation to the proposal presented to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators,” Khalil al-Hayya said.
Ha added that the movement will study the document before submitting a reply, noting, however, that Hamas remains adamant on its core demands, which Israel has rejected so far.
Last month, Hayya said Hamas had put forward a “realistic” Gaza ceasefire proposal that involved the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the besieged Palestinian territory, the release of Israeli captives, the return of displaced civilians, and unhindered access to aid.
On Friday, Hayya criticized the regime’s response for not including a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, reiterating that Hamas was “open to any ideas or proposals that take into account the needs and rights of our people.”
On Sunday, Reuters quoted an unnamed Hamas official as saying that the movement’s delegation will visit Cairo on Monday for talks aimed at securing a ceasefire, adding that the delegation would discuss a ceasefire proposal handed by Hamas to mediators from Qatar and Egypt, as well as Israel’s response.
Source: Press TV