PNN – Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, stated that the United States has based the Israeli response on the new ceasefire proposal, adding that this response does not even meet the minimum demands of the Palestinian people and is aimed at freeing Zionist prisoners without any guarantee of an end to the war.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Following the continued deception of the US and the Israeli regime in the Gaza ceasefire case and the new provisions that Steve Whittaker, the US envoy to the Middle East, included in his proposed ceasefire plan, Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, announced in his new remarks to this effect: We did not reject Witkoff’s offer, but rather agreed with him on an offer last week and considered it acceptable as a proposal for negotiation.
Bassem Naim said that after that, the Zionist side’s response was presented, and this response did not comply with any of the things we had agreed on with Witkoff, and it did not even meet the demands of the Palestinian people.
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He added: However, considering the great suffering and extremely difficult conditions in which the Palestinian people are living, we approached this proposal with great responsibility and responded to it in a way that at least meets the demands of our people.
The Hamas leader stressed: We called on the enemy to respect the temporary 60-day ceasefire and allow sufficient humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. We demand guarantees that negotiations during the 60-day ceasefire will lead to an end to the war and the withdrawal of the occupying forces from Gaza.
He clarified why the Zionist side’s response should always be considered the only response for negotiations. This violates the honesty and fairness of the mediation and constitutes complete bias towards the other side (Israel), and the enemy wants to release its prisoners in the first week without any guarantee of commitment to implementing the proposed terms that we agreed with Witkoff the week before.
Bassem Naim noted: The occupying regime wants humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip according to its own plans, not as before March 2 and according to the January 19 agreement. In fact, according to the Israeli plan, we must also legitimize the militarization of aid in Gaza and help the Zionists implement this plan!
The Hamas leader emphasized: The occupiers want to negotiate withdrawal plans based on their new military presence in Gaza and in order to control this strip.
He concluded by saying: Therefore, according to the response provided by the Zionist side, there is absolutely no guarantee that the war will stop and the enemy forces will withdraw at the end of the negotiations, and the discussion is about the redeployment of the Zionist army and security arrangements in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Steve Whittaker considers Hamas’ response, which includes the need to provide guarantees for the end of the war and the withdrawal of the Zionists from Gaza, unacceptable, and believes that the movement’s response must be in accordance with the principles set forth in his proposed document. But the Palestinians insist that the provisions that Witkoff included in his proposal are in line with the Zionist demands, contain many ambiguities and question marks, and lack clear guarantees for ending the war.