Hamas says the unified stance adopted by all Palestinian resistance factions regarding the US president’s latest Gaza ceasefire proposal has intensified the global isolation of Israel.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said on Monday the resistance’s position was based on the interests of the Palestinian people. “We welcome the Arab and international position supporting the Palestinian right and the positive engagement of the resistance factions to stop the aggression,” Taha said.
He stressed that Israel must genuinely commit to stopping its aggression, but the continuation of its crimes reveals the falsity of its declared stance on the latest Gaza peace initiative.
Taha stressed that Gaza is “an integral part of the Palestinian land, and its administration must be based on Palestinian national consensus.”
His comments came as delegations representing Israel and Hamas are set to begin indirect talks in Egypt on the US-proposed Gaza ceasefire plan.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators are working with both sides to establish a mechanism for the exchange of Israeli captives in Gaza with the Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
An Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the media the talks began Monday afternoon at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The negotiations began with a meeting between Arab mediators and the Hamas delegation, Egyptian media reported, adding that the mediators will then hold talks with the Israeli delegation.
According to reports, Egyptian and Qatari mediators will discuss the outcome of their meetings with both parties before US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff joins the talks.
The discussions will focus on Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, which the Tel Aviv regime has agreed to and Hamas has partly accepted.
Hamas agreed to the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian abductees, provided certain “field conditions” are met.
Israel unleashed its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out its historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Tel Aviv regime has so far failed to achieve its declared objectives of eliminating Hamas and freeing all captives in Gaza, despite killing, according to the health ministry of Gaza, 67,160 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 169,679 others.
Mass starvation has also gripped Gaza as Israel prevents the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged territory.
[ SOURCE: PRESS TV and NEWS AGENCIES ]
