Hamas official: New Egyptian ceasefire proposal calls for group to disarm
An unnamed senior Hamas official tells Al Jazeera Arabic that Hamas had received a new ceasefire proposal from Egypt – but the Egyptian side emphasises that no deal can be reached with Israel unless the Palestinian group lays down its arms.
“Our negotiating delegation was surprised that the proposal Egypt conveyed included an explicit text regarding the disarmament of the resistance,” the official said. “Egypt informed us that there will be no agreement to stop the war without negotiating the disarmament of the resistance.”
According to the official, Hamas stuck to its position that any agreement should be centred on an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and its withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave. The official added that Hamas’s weapons were “not subject to discussion”.
Israel has repeatedly insisted that Hamas must be defeated – including being disarmed – for the war to end.
The senior Hamas official adds that the proposal by Egypt includes a ceasefire for 45 days in exchange for the entry of food and materials for shelter into Gaza. That is desperately needed in Gaza after Israel’s decision to block the entry of all humanitarian aid into the territory in early March and warnings of starvation.
But Hamas has insisted that the war in Gaza – in which Israel has now killed more than 50,000 Palestinians – must end.
Egypt’s proposal shows Israel not yielding any concessions
Egypt’s ceasefire proposal calling for Hamas to disarm has to do with the fact that Israel has not moved an inch in the negotiations. It is only willing to concede a temporary ceasefire for 45 days in exchange for the release of 11 captives, half of those believed to still be alive.
It is also only willing to allow food, water and medicine in, something that it is obliged to do under international law regardless of the ceasefire. It does not want to leave the areas it now controls in Gaza, which is effectively 50 percent of the Strip, while 2.1 million people are squeezed into what is left of the enclave.
The Trump administration is also insisting on Hamas’s disarmament, and that’s what would bring about any talk of ending the war. But this is a very sensitive point for Palestinians across the board.
Over the past 18 months, Palestinians have been listening to Israeli officials not just promising to open the gates of hell but also talking about expelling them from the territory. They feel that what Israel is looking for is the utter capitulation of Palestinians. To talk about disarming Hamas in the absence of any political horizon would be seen as an act of absolute surrender.
