Hamas gets time frame for truce with Israel

The head of the Hamas Political Bureau said on Tuesday that his movement had received the timeframe for the implementation of the terms of the truce reached with Israel. “We sent our conditions to the Israeli occupation authorities through the Egyptian brokers, who brought us the time frame for the implementation of the truce,” Ismail Haniyeh explained during a meeting with Palestinian writers and intellectuals.

One of the Palestinian demands, he pointed out, is related to the prisoners held by Israel, who are complaining about the installation of jamming devices within their cells that could be carcinogenic. He insisted that Israel must end the suffering of the Palestinian prisoners and abolish recent punitive measures imposed upon them.

READ: Israel, Hamas agree to truce via Egyptian mediators

The Hamas leader said that although the rocket which was launched at Tel Aviv from Gaza might have been activated mistakenly, “it carried a message to the Israeli occupation that this is an example of what would happen if it decides to carry out an offensive against Gaza.”

According to Haniyeh’s Deputy, Isam Al-Da’alis, some of the terms of the truce are to be implemented before the Israeli General Election scheduled for 9 April, and some afterwards. He noted that some would take a long time to be completed, such as the proposed infrastructure projects.

Al-Da’alis added that the other issues covered by the truce would be the Gaza Strip’s electricity supply, border crossings, fishing, temporary employees and the healthcare crisis. “Some of the terms have already been implemented,” he said, “such as the expansion of the fishing zone and reopening the crossings.”

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