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A senior representative of Hamas says the proposed deal it agreed to includes the “withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip.”
Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told a news conference in Beirut that the proposed deal would secure “the main issues of the demands of our people and our resistance in stopping the aggression permanently, the withdrawal of the occupation from the entire Gaza Strip, the free return of the displaced, relief, reconstruction, ending the siege, and achieving a real and serious exchange deal.”
Hamdan said the proposed deal’s three phases would be continuously implemented, claiming that Israel wanted “to complete one stage, in which it would achieve the release of its prisoners held by the resistance, and then resume its aggression against the Gaza Strip.”
Referring to Egypt and Qatar, Hamdan said “the mediator brothers, if their proposal is approved…will have a role in completing all stages of the agreement, and putting pressure on the occupation to adhere to its provisions and implement them.”
Israel has said there are significant gaps between what Hamas has agreed to and what was on the table in previous rounds of negotiations. In a statement Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Hamas proposal “was designed to torpedo the entry of our forces into Rafah. That did not happen.”
Netanyahu said that “as the war cabinet unanimously determined, the Hamas proposal was very far from Israel’s core demands.”
The White House said Tuesday that a close reading of Israel and Hamas’ separate negotiating positions on a hostage deal indicates the two sides should be able to strike an agreement.
National security spokesman John Kirby’s comment was a fresh sign of optimism about the state of hostage talks after they appeared to stall Monday. CIA Director Bill Burns was in Cairo Tuesday for continued discussions.
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