Hamas says it won't disarm unless independent Palestinian state established
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and deal for the release of hostages ended last week in deadlock.
On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and saying that as part of this Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
In its statement, Hamas — which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war — said it could not yield its right to "armed resistance" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" is established.
Israel considers the disarmament of Hamas a key condition for any deal to end the conflict, but Hamas has repeatedly said it is not willing to lay down its weaponry.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described any future independent Palestinian state as a platform to destroy Israel and said, for that reason, security control over Palestinian territories must remain with Israel.
He also criticised several countries, including the UK and Canada, for announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state in response to devastation of Gaza from Israel's offensive and blockade, calling the move a reward for Hamas' conduct.
The war started when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has turned much of the enclave into a wasteland, killed over 60,000 Palestinians and set off a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel and Hamas traded blame after the most recent round of talks ended in an impasse, with gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Netanyahu looking to annex all of Gaza: Report
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning toward expanding the offensive in Gaza and seizing the entire enclave, Israel's Channel 12 cited an official from his office as saying on Monday. Netanyahu will be convening his cabinet on Tuesday to make a decision on the matter, Israeli media reported. - Reporting by Reuters
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
US states and cities boycotting Israel won't receive disaster funds, Trump administration says
US President Donald Trump 's administration has said states and cities will not receive funding to prepare for natural disasters if they choose to boycott Israeli companies. States must certify that they will not cut commercial relations with Israeli companies to receive the money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Reuters reported, quoting grant notices posted last week. The condition applies to at least $1.9 billion on which states rely for search and rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and back-up power systems, among other expenses. 'DHS [Department of Homeland Security] will enforce all anti-discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement, which is expressly grounded in anti-Semitism," a DHS representative said in a statement to The National. They were referring to a campaign designed to put economic pressure on Israel to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories. "Those who engage in racial discrimination should not receive a single dollar of federal funding.' More than 30 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to Newsweek. Fema will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas. New York City is due to receive $92.2 million from the programme, more than all other recipients. It is the latest example of the Trump administration making use of routine federal funding to advance its political message at the state level. Fema said in July that states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government to arrest migrants, which is an administration priority. Mr Trump has said that Fema should be eliminated, and that states should take on more responsibility for responding to and preparing for disasters including extreme weather.
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel halts airstrikes
Hamas said on Sunday it was prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza, if Israel meets certain conditions, after a video it released showing an emaciated captive drew sharp criticism from Western powers. Palestinian local health authorities said at least 80 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included persons trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said. Hamas said any coordination with the Red Cross is contingent upon Israel permanently opening humanitarian corridors and halting airstrikes during the distribution of aid. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Hamas, thus far, has barred humanitarian organizations from having any kind of access to the hostages and families have little or no details of their conditions. A Palestinian man carries aid that entered Gaza through Israel, as other Palestinians ride on a truck, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Reuters On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole that, he says in the video, is for his own grave. The arm of the individual holding the camera, which can be seen in the frame, is a regular width. The video of David drew criticism from Western powers and horrified Israelis. France, Germany, the UK and the US were among countries to express outrage and Israel's foreign ministry announced that the UN Security Council will hold a special session on Tuesday morning on the issue of the situation of the hostages in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based ICRC's local delegation. A statement from The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of those being held in Gaza, said Hamas' comments about the hostages cannot hide that it "has been holding innocent people in impossible conditions for over 660 days," and demanded their immediate release. Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Reuters "Until their release," said the statement, "Hamas has the obligation to provide them with everything they need. Hamas kidnapped them and they must care for them. Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas's hands." Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said on Sunday as Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave, in the throes of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of war. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said. Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said later in the day that four tankers of UN fuel had entered to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services. People mourn during the funeral of Palestinians, who were killed by Israeli fire while trying to receive aid, at Al Shifa Hospital. Reuters There was no immediate confirmation whether the two diesel fuel trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt. Gaza's health ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients. Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas fighters to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. UN agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble. COGAT said that during the past week over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by U.N. and other international organisations. Meanwhile, Belgium's air force dropped the first in a series of its aid packages into Gaza on Sunday in a joint operation with Jordan, the Belgian defence ministry said. A woman reacts during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an overnight Israeli strike on an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Sunday. Reuters France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tons of humanitarian aid. Looted aid trucks The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive. Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at its headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials. Reuters
