Disarmament is a ‘million red lines’: Hamas official Abu Zuhri
More from Sami Abu Zuhri, who has confirmed what Al Jazeera had earlier heard from an unnamed Hamas senior official on the Palestinian group’s rejection of any attempt to force it to abandon its weapons.
“The request to disarm Hamas is not acceptable to even hear,” Abu Zuhri said. “This is not just a red line. It is a million red lines.
“Everyone should understand that this is a dream. Daydreaming. It cannot be achieved. The dreams of Netanyahu and his supporters cannot be achieved because Hamas is a movement defending its own people and because the Palestinians want to liberate their land.
“As long as there is an occupation, the resistance will continue and arms will stay in the hands of the resistance to defend our people and our rights.”
Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News earlier reported that Egypt had presented a new Israeli proposal for a Gaza ceasefire to Hamas.
Hamas wants guarantee for an end to the war in negotiations
The Israeli army is now in control of much of the Gaza Strip, so 2.1 million Palestinians are squeezed into about less than a third of the enclave.
What Hamas wants is a guarantee that ceasefire negotiations would lead to an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and that is simply not on the table.
Of course, Israel is encouraged by the fact that US President Donald Trump’s administration has also adopted its demand that Hamas be disarmed and is not objecting to Israel not allowing any food, water, medicine or other assistance into Gaza since the beginning of March.
