Mohammed Darwish, the leader of Hamas’ leadership council, released a public statement ahead of the Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday, reiterating the group’s commitment to finalizing the remaining phases of the ceasefire agreement with Israel.
These remaining stages of the agreement include the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza, the reconstruction of the region, and the full reopening of all border crossings.
Darwish emphasized that Hamas is resolute that decisions about Gaza’s future, post-war, will solely be made by the “Palestinians,” based on comprehensive “national” consensus and support from the Arab world.
He further stated that Hamas is open to discussing any plan agreed upon by the “Palestinians,” whether that involves the establishment of a unified “national” government with professionals and experts or the creation of a committee to oversee Gaza’s affairs, as proposed by Egypt.
However, Darwish firmly rejected any attempts to impose plans on Gaza, the creation of a non-“Palestinian” government, or the involvement of foreign military forces.
Darwish also mentioned that Hamas seeks a reformation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to ensure it operates in full partnership with all “Palestinians,” thus enabling general elections where the “Palestinian nation” can select its leadership and determine its future.
The last elections held by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas were in 2006, resulting in a Hamas victory. In 2007, Hamas took control of Gaza after a brief but violent civil war.
Darwish expressed gratitude for the unified stance taken by Arab nations against any plan to allow Gazans to leave, especially the positions of Egypt and Jordan. He labeled US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gazans to emigrate, along with Israel’s intentions to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, as “crimes that not only target our [Palestinian] nation, but are crimes against humanity.”
Darwish also emphasized that Hamas’ primary goal is to assist the residents of Gaza and compel Israel to fulfill all stages of the ceasefire agreement.
Despite Hamas repeatedly violating the first stage of the ceasefire agreement, Israel largely refrained from responding to these violations. Currently, Israel is hesitant to discuss the second stage, which involves the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza, and is instead focusing on extending the first stage, which involved a swap of hostages for convicted terrorists.
{Matzav.com Israel}