A senior member of the Hamas movement stated that the Zionist regime does not intend to guarantee an end to the war or a withdrawal from Gaza, and that it does not meet the basic needs of the people of Gaza.
Basem Naim, a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), emphasized in an interview with Al-Mayadeen that the movement did not reject the plan proposed by Steve Whittaker, the US envoy to Gaza, but rather announced its agreement with it last week and accepted it as a negotiable proposal.
He continued: “The Zionist side has presented its response to the Whittaker plan, and this response does not align with the clauses we agreed upon nor does it meet the minimum needs of our people.”
Naim noted that Hamas has maintained a positive and responsible stance towards this plan and the concerns threatening their nation, and has submitted its response to fulfill the minimum of their demands.
The Hamas official added: “We demand guarantees that the enemy will respect the temporary 60-day ceasefire and that sufficient humanitarian aid will enter Gaza.”
He stressed that guarantees must be provided that negotiations during this period will lead to an end to the war and the withdrawal of the aggressor forces.
Basem Naim continued: “What Witkaf brought from the other side is a reaction to our proposals, which included a 60-day ceasefire last week. However, the other side insists that this ceasefire be implemented without any guarantees to bind the enemy, because they want to hand over their prisoners in the first week [and then resume the war].”
The senior Hamas member emphasized that the occupiers are seeking to enter Gaza with humanitarian aid according to their plan, not as was the case before March 2nd.
Basem Naim also noted that the Zionist regime never intends to provide guarantees for ending the war and withdrawing hostile forces from Gaza at the conclusion of negotiations, as it continues to discuss redeploying its forces and establishing security arrangements inside the Gaza Strip.