Hamas Terrorists: Ready To Implement Ceasefire With Israel Without New Conditions From Any Party

On Wednesday evening, the Hamas terror organization expressed its willingness to establish an “immediate” ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, citing an earlier proposal from the United States, according to Reuters. The Hamas terrorist group emphasized that it is ready to proceed without additional demands from any party.

In a public statement, Hamas disclosed that its negotiators, led by senior figure Khalil al-Hayya, held discussions with mediators on Wednesday. The talks involved Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, and took place in Doha.

A source familiar with the matter told Axios’ Barak Ravid that after the discussions in Doha, Qatari and Egyptian mediators sensed a possibility of introducing a fresh bridging proposal next week, crafted by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.

The United States has consistently pushed for a framework that includes both a ceasefire and the release of hostages, which President Joe Biden initially outlined in May. However, Hamas has repeatedly turned down every plan offered.

The Washington Post revealed last week that US officials have been collaborating with Egypt and Qatar to finalize a definitive “take it or leave it” agreement. Yet, on Saturday, the same newspaper reported that US representatives announced they had “indefinitely delayed” presenting the final proposal.

According to the Post, the latest challenge arose when Hamas unexpectedly demanded that Israel free high-profile terrorists in exchange for humanitarian prisoners.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, addressing the situation on Tuesday, minimized the pessimism surrounding a potential hostage deal. He mentioned that the US intends to put forward a new proposal “very soon.”

During a joint press conference in London with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Blinken was questioned about the ongoing talks regarding the ceasefire and hostage situation and whether the negotiations had reached an impasse. He was also asked if any guarantees could be provided to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the Philadelphi Corridor and whether Israel’s security would be maintained, even if Israeli forces were not stationed there.

“On the ceasefire, here’s what I can tell you: More than 90 percent of the issues have been agreed, decided. So we’re down to a handful of issues – not even a handful of issues – that are hard but fully resolvable, in our judgment. And as we’ve said before, when you get down to the last 10 percent, the last 10 meters, those are, almost by definition, the hardest ground to cover. But we believe that these are fully resolvable,” Blinken responded.

“Right now, we’re working intensely with our Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to work together to bridge any remaining gaps. And in the coming time, very soon, we’ll put that before the parties and we’ll see what they say,” he added.

{Matzav.com Israel}