Hamas has indicated it could reject President Trump’s Gaza peace deal because it only “serves Israel’s interests” and ignores the Palestinian people, one of the group’s senior figures said Wednesday.
The militant group is said to have issues with some of Trump’s 20 conditions for ending the war, including that it disarm and destroy its weapons, as well as the deployment of an International Stabilization Force into Gaza, the official told BBC News.
Hamas has yet to officially respond to Trump’s peace plan for the embattled territory — days after Israel agreed to the terms.
Trump on Tuesday gave Hamas “three or four days” to agree to his peace deal — or the Palestinian terror group will face “a very sad end.”
“We’re just waiting for Hamas,” Trump said, noting that there was “not much” room for negotiations.
Arab mediators, meanwhile, are more optimistic, telling the Wall Street Journal that the terror group is open to accepting the conditions but asked for additional time given it had some reservations.
They argued, in part, that the plan included loopholes that would allow the Jewish state to easily resume the devastating war.
“Accepting the plan is a disaster, rejecting it is another, there are only bitter choices here, but the plan is a Netanyahu plan articulated by Trump,” a Palestinian official familiar with Hamas’ deliberations told Reuters.
“Hamas is keen to end the war and end the genocide and it will respond in the way that serves the higher interests of the Palestinian people.”
The mediators – made up of Qatar, Egypt and Turkey – have all reportedly urged Hamas to accept the deal.
Ahead of the meeting with Hamas, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Al-Jazeera that he hoped “everyone looks at the plan constructively and seizes the chance to end the war.”
“We and Egypt explained to Hamas during yesterday’s meeting that our main goal is stopping the war. Trump’s plan achieves the main goal of ending the war, though some issues in it need clarification and negotiation,” al-Thani said.
He added, too, that Trump’s plan “needs development.”
Trump’s stipulations call for an immediate cease-fire, an exchange of all remaining hostages, a staged withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the creation of a transitional government spearheaded by an international body.
Hamas has previously agreed to some of the terms but has repeatedly rejected calls to demilitarize unless a pathway for a Palestinian state is granted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the deal on Monday amid mounting pressure from the Israeli public to end the war.
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