GAZA (Dispatches) – Hamas has rejected a ceasefire proposal that would see all armed groups in Gaza “surrender” to the Zionist regime, with the Palestinian movement accusing the occupying regime’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging efforts to broker a truce and end the 18-month war.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera Arabic that the group was “open to all offers that alleviate the suffering of our people”, but the latest draft Israeli proposal was demanding Palestinians agree to a “surrender.”
“Netanyahu is setting impossible conditions to sabotage the ceasefire agreement,” Abu Zuhri said.
“In its latest proposal, the occupation [the Zionist regime] does not commit to a full cessation of war - it only wants to receive the captives. We are ready to release all the living and dead captives at once in exchange for ending the war and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,” he said.
“Surrender is not an option for the Hamas movement, and we will not accept breaking the will of our people... Hamas will not surrender, will not raise the white flag, and will use all pressure cards against the occupation,” he added.
According to the draft Israeli ceasefire proposal, a copy of which was seen by Middle East Eye, the initiative calls for 45 days of calm that would see all Israeli captives released as part of a phased deal.
The proposal, which comprises 12 points, said half of the Israeli captives need to be freed in the first week in exchange for food and aid to enter the war-battered enclave.
A senior member of Islamic Jihad also said that disarming the resistance movements in occupied Palestine and handing over their weapons to the “Zionist enemy” signals “complete surrender” and gives the “green light for the extermination of the Palestinian people,”.
Ihsan Ataya told Al-Resalah Net that even if this were to happen, it would not mean an end to the brutal aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza. The member of the movement’s Political Bureau said that it would not only signify acceptance of the genocide and forced displacement to which the Palestinian people have been subjected for decades, but also encourage the occupation regime to continue its massacres and put more pressure on the Palestinian people to displace them from their land.
“The Zionist enemy does not abide by any agreement or guarantees, as experience has proven, the most recent of which is its violation of the ceasefire agreement despite guarantees from three countries,” said Ataya. He pointed out that what happened with the Oslo Accords, and what is happening today in the West Bank and Al-Quds, shows clearly that the occupation regime does not respect agreements, does not abide by any international commitments, and does not respect any country in the world.