The Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has responded to a 20-point proposal forwarded by Donald Trump, which the US president says is aimed at ending the Israeli regime’s ongoing war of genocide on the coastal sliver.
The movement provided its response through a statement on Friday after “extensively studying” the plan and conducting “in-depth consolations” with various Palestinian factions as well as “out of keenness to stop the aggression and the war of extermination.”
The group also said it had come up with the response “based on national responsibility and out of concern for the constants, rights, and supreme interests of our people.”
As part of the response and for the sake of enabling cessation of the warfare and realization of withdrawal of the invading Israeli forces, Hamas said it agrees to “release all Israeli captives, living and deceased.”
The group, however, asserted that the release would take place “provided that the field conditions for the exchange process are secured.”
Accordingly, the group said, it is ready to enter negotiation with mediators towards realizing the purpose.
Elsewhere in the statement, Hamas said it approves of “handing over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats) based on Palestinian national consensus and based on Arab and Islamic support.”
Nevertheless, the group stated that the rest of the provisions mentioned in Trump’s proposal had to be agreed upon “through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework of which Hamas will be a part and to which it will contribute with full responsibility.”
It attributed the latter part of its decision to those provisions being linked to a comprehensive national position and based on relevant international laws and resolutions.
Earlier, the movement had expressed skepticism concerning the proposal, asserting that due to the sensitive nature of the elements involved, its response would be a distinctively collective one integrating the opinions of various Palestinian factions.
It had identified the matters at stake as the future of the Palestinian issue, Palestinians’ rights, core principles, and political identity, saying it would provide a conclusive answer following additional consultations with Palestinian groups.
(This item will be updated).
