Hamas calls on Washington to “pressure” Israel for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza

On Thursday morning, the Hamas movement called on the United States to “pressure” Israel in order to reach a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas movement said in a statement, “While Blinken continues to talk about “Israel’s” approval of the latest proposal, we have not heard any “Israeli” official speak of this approval,” adding, “We call on Blinken, and the administration of President Biden, to direct pressure” on the Jewish state.

Hamas stressed in its statement that it has always shown “the positivity required to reach a comprehensive and satisfactory agreement based on the just demands of our people for a final cessation of aggression, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, reconstruction and the conclusion of a serious prisoner exchange deal.”

BREAKING: HAMAS STATEMENT – Please read and share this. Hamas are telling the truth about the ceasefire deal.

"OUR POSITION IS CLEAR & WE WILL SHOW THE REALITY."

“The Hamas Movement has demonstrated, in all stages of the negotiations to stop the aggression, the positivity… pic.twitter.com/JKaxyVjKHJ

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) June 12, 2024

The movement added that they “dealt positively and with national responsibility with the latest proposal” announced by US President Joe Biden at the end of May and enshrined by the UN Security Council in a resolution issued on Monday.

In its statement, Hamas affirmed that it “welcomed the Security Council resolution and its emphasis regarding a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, complete withdrawal from it, the exchange of prisoners, reconstruction, the return of the displaced to their areas of residence, the rejection of any demographic change or reduction of the area of ​​the Gaza Strip, and the introduction of the necessary aid to our people in the Strip. The Movement confirmed its readiness to cooperate with the mediator brothers to enter into indirect negotiations on the implementation of these principles in line with the demands of our people and our resistance.”

In its first phase, the proposal stipulates a six-week ceasefire accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas in the Gaza Strip, and the release of some hostages who were held during the Hamas attack and Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

But Hamas stresses that any ceasefire agreement must guarantee a permanent end to the Israeli military invasion, a condition that Israel has strongly rejected.

After issuing two resolutions that focused mainly on humanitarian aid, Hamas finally called at the end of March for an immediate ceasefire throughout the month of Ramadan, while the United States abstained from voting on that resolution.

Earlier, The Eastern Herald reported the reason for the invasion of Gaza, as the last round of negotiations in Cairo aimed at brokering a ceasefire to halt Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in genocide and ethnic cleansing of millions of Palestinians, ended without resolution, further deepening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Despite intensive discussions, Israel’s rejection of proposed terms for a ceasefire agreement and its subsequent ground invasion in Rafah indicate a calculated strategy to maintain leverage.