Hamas: Egyptian proposals failed to meet Palestinian demands

The proposals put forward to the Palestinian delegation in Cairo do not meet Palestinian demands, a senior Hamas member said on Saturday.

The foreign affairs spokesman of Hamas, Osama Hamdan, said in a Facebook statement yesterday that Israel has to accept Palestinian conditions “or face a long-term war of attrition.”

A further five-day ceasefire took effect last Thursday, 14 August, following the end of a previous truce that followed the killing of some 2,000 Palestinian civilians and over 64 Israeli soldiers.

On Saturday, Hamas called on Israel to lift its siege on Gaza so as to move closer to reaching a lasting ceasefire. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zhuri said that fulfilling the demands of Palestinians would facilitate a truce between the two sides. Otherwise, “it would be difficult.”

Abu Zuhri stressed that the demands of the Palestinian people are “legitimate and humanitarian.”

The Palestinian delegation in Cairo’s conditions include, among others, a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, reactivating the 2012 agreement, ending the siege, and building a seaport and airport in Gaza. On the other hand, Israel insists on demilitarising the Gaza Strip as a pre-condition, which Palestinian resistance factions firmly reject.