Hamas militants and Islamic Jihad terror groups operating in Gaza have rejected an Egyptian-led truce proposal with Israel that would see the militants relinquish power in return for an end to the war.
The militant group, who
conducted the October 7 massacre in Israel, have refused to take part in one of
the biggest conditions laid out by negotiators in Cairo on Sunday: an end to
Hamas’ reign in Gaza by forming a Palestinian parliament and holding free
elections, according to two Egyptian security sources.
The militant organizations in
Palestine instead reiterated that the only thing they’re ready to discuss is a
prisoner swap that would see more than 100 Israeli hostages released in
exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel’s jails.
However, according to Reuters,
a Hamas official who was in Cairo during the negotiations added that even a
prisoner swap would only take place once Israel has withdrawn from war-torn
Gaza.
“Hamas seeks to end the Israeli
aggression against our people, the massacres and genocide, and we discussed
with our Egyptian brothers the ways to do that,” the official told Reuters.
“We also said that the aid for
our people must keep going and must increase, and it must reach all the
population in the north and the south,” the Hamas official added. “After the
aggression is stopped and the aid increased, we are ready to discuss prisoner
swaps.”
While the peace talks have been
previously discussed exchanging one hostage for every three Palestinian women
and minors freed, leaders for Islamic Jihad are now demanding a different approach.
Hamas claimed that the only
fair exchange would be all the hostages held by Hamas for all the prisoners
held by Israel according to the Egyptian sources.
There were about 5,250
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails before the war, but that number has
nearly doubled after thousands more were arrested in conflicts along the West
Bank since October 7, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Association.
There are believed to be more
than 100 Israeli hostages still in captivity in Gaza.
Izzat al-Risheq, a member of
Hamas’s political bureau, has come out to insist that the peace talks are not
off the table, claiming that the Gazan groups have not rejected the Egyptian
plan.
“The leadership of the movement
seeks with all force to stop the aggression and massacres against our people
completely and not temporarily,” he told Al Aljazeera. “Our people want to stop
the aggression and do not wait for temporary truces and a partial truce for a
short period, after which the aggression and terrorism will continue.”
Hamas refuses free elections in
Gaza and rejects Egyptian proposal to end war with Israe.
The Egyptian plan focuses on
three phases, the first of which involves a two-week truce agreement that would
see 40 hostages freed in exchange for 120 prisoners.
The second phase involves the
establishment of a new government in Gaza, with the final step calling for
permanent peace and the freedom of all hostages.
Despite the hesitation from the
terror groups to accept the proposal, Israel also appears ready to reject it,
with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterating that the war will
only end when the terror group is destroyed
“Anyone who talks about
stopping — no. We’re not stopping,” Netanyahu said during a visit to northern
Gaza on Monday. “This is going to go until the end. Until we finish them. No
less than that.”
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