Hamas has sent out ‘mixed messages’ in response to Trump’s peace plan • FRANCE 24 English

Hamas has sent out ‘mixed messages’ in response to Trump’s peace plan • FRANCE 24 English

Well, yes, good to see you, Gavin. My understanding is that among other things, uh, Qatar and Egypt, the two most prominent mediating countries, also asked for a few more days to try and work this out. There have been mixed messages from Hamas with a Hamas military leader from Gaza telling the BBC that he opposed it, that he thought this was a deal aimed at wiping out the organization and the political leadership in Qatar, saying they wanted to look for gray areas, they said for those places where things could be worked out. It has to be said that while Hamas’s position is not good, uh certainly not good after two years of being pounded by Israel, this deal does offer Hamas a few things that should be important um victories. For example, by Donald Trump having signed an extraordinary security pact with Qatar just after the announcement of this deal, Hamas leadership in Qatar and any Hamas leaders from Gaza who wish to escape to Qatar basically have gotten lifetime immunity. That is no small thing. In addition, we are talking about hundreds and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to be released under the terms of this deal, including at least 250 is my understanding, with life sentences. In other words, people convicted of acts of terror, of murder. So, that’s what’s on the table in terms of Hamas. I think it’s also important to point out that Israel has not said a public word about this deal. And the general understanding in Israel is that this was coerced onto Prime Minister Netanyahu who has significant political hurdles to here at home. There is so much still to balance. The next is presumably, and you pointed to it, somewhere within a tunnel complex in Gaza, the military commander of Hamas, Isadin Al-Had, reported earlier this week to have told mediators in Qatar that he he doesn’t agree because the plan is designed to finish the group amnesty or not. So is determined to carry on and I guess ultimately that is still a sticking point. You talk about Hamas leadership in Qatar but it appears doesn’t it that it’s still ultimately a decision feeding through to what happens with those inside Gaza. Yes. I mean we are really at quite a precipice right now. Earlier today, Bloomberg reported um that the Gulf Emirates had basically decided, I’m quoting now, to move ahead with this plan with or without Hamas. It’s hard to know what that means given that Hamas still holds certain powers in Gaza and is still holding some 48 Israeli hostages, of whom 20, about 20 are thought to still be alive 2 years in. So, we don’t know what that may mean to move ahead without Hamas. Um, but it would be quite a military undertaking. Um, in addition, we don’t know what Hamas may respond or what that may mean. And we don’t know what Israel’s preparing. Israel has by and large succeeded in something many thought was impossible, which is almost emptying out Gaza. Probably between 250 and 300,000 Gazans still remain in the city of Gaza. By and large, Isra fled. Israel continues daily strikes on Gaza and daily ground operations. There are between 50 and 100 dead most days. So, it is very much a scene of war. And the Israeli hostages hang in the balance. It’s a subject which Prime Minister Netanyahu has made every effort to try and erase from the Israeli public sphere, and it’s one of his miscalculations. the in the Israeli public sphere for the Israeli public the hostages are a subject that no one can be free of and it is one of the reasons that 80% of Israelis for months now have been saying they would accept any deal to end this war. Let me also ask you no about something else today because I see itar Bengavir the right-wing Israeli minister is making headlines as well regards to the the flatillaa the summad flatillaa the last of the boats being intercepted by Israeli forces today trying to break Israel’s sea blockade tell me what he said and what the reaction to it it’s been this is really a moment filled with all kinds of I would say irony and even some kind of cringiness Etham Marab Benvir is a very particular figure on the Israeli public stage. He’s a man convicted 13 times of terror associations himself and of hate crimes. He was a longtime hooligan under the eyes of Israel police and of the internal security agency, the Shinbet. and um he was encouraged by Prime Minister Netanyahu eventually to form an ultrarightwing extremist nationalist religious faction. And as head of that faction, Netanyahu then made him the the minister in charge not only of the police but also of the prison service of Israel. And he has milked this in terms of his own private PR for his own base. He has milked this for everything he could. Today we saw him visiting a group of these pro-Palestinian uh activists who were part of this flotilla that Israel intercepted in detention. If I’m not mistaken, this is either in Ashod or at Bengurion airport, I believe in Ashdod, the port city that they were taken to, and mocking them and getting it filmed. I probably shouldn’t say this, but like a teenager standing in front of them calling them terrorists, deriding them. He also asked the prime minister not to deport them, which is what Israel has decided to do, but to detain them. It was all quite a show. And this has followed several weeks of what I have to say is a bit of a media circus surrounding this entire flatillaa.

US President Donald Trump gave Palestinian Hamas militants until Sunday evening to accept his proposal to end the nearly two-year-old war with US ally Israel in the Gaza Strip. “There have been mixed messages from Hamas”, said Noga Tarnopolsky, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Jerusalem. A Hamas military leader from Gaza said he opposed the deal, while the political leadership in Qatar said they wanted to look for gray areas, or places where a compromise could be reached, added Tarnopolsky. 

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