[News] PIJ leader: Resistance ready to negotiate, but rejects surrender

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/pij-leader--resistance-ready-to-negotiate--but-rejects-surre> 



  PIJ leader: Resistance ready to negotiate, but rejects surrender

Al Mayadeen English
October 8, 2025
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PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah says the Resistance is willing to negotiate 
on limited terms, slamming parts of Trump's Gaza plan as surrender.

  * PIJ leader says Resistance is ready to negotiate, but rejects
    surrender.
    <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/10/8/c4751110-c9b3-412b-b1d5-2432417a0c89.jpg?v=4&width=1000>
    Leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, Ziyad
    al-Nakhalah, addresses the Palestinian people and supporters in an
    address aired by**Al Mayadeen, on October 8, 2025 (Al Mayadeen)

The Resistance is prepared to enter negotiations 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/delegations-flood-in-egypt-as-trump-s-gaza-plan-moves-forwar> 
since “there are clauses that can be dealt with positively,” said Ziyad 
al-Nakhalah, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) 
movement, naming the prisoner-exchange clause as the foremost example.

Speaking in an address aired by *Al Mayadeen Media Network* on the 
second anniversary of Operation Al Aqsa Flood, al-Nakhalah stressed that 
the Palestinian Resistance is engaged in a ferocious negotiating battle 
while fighting on the battlefield.

"We are fighting the harshest battle and we will not surrender,” he 
declared, framing military and diplomatic resistance as essential to 
success in the current phase.


    Conditional openness, prisoner exchange first

Al-Nakhalah made it clear that the Resistance's readiness to negotiate 
is limited and conditional. He said the movement “expressed readiness to 
negotiate on the basis that there are clauses that can be dealt with 
positively, the first of which is the prisoner-exchange clause,” 
underlining prisoners as the primary bargaining chip and humanitarian 
priority.

He reiterated the movement’s continued commitment to securing an 
exchange that meets agreed criteria and preserves the Resistance’s leverage.

“Hamas and the Resistance factions insist that captives will only be 
freed under a committed, enforceable deal that ends the war,” he emphasized.

*Read more: Indirect talks for a ceasefire in Gaza begin in Sharm 
El-Sheikh 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/indirect-talks-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza-begin-in-sharm-el-she>*


    Rejection of Trump plan as enforced surrender

Al-Nakhalah sharply criticized the plan put forward by former US 
President Donald Trump, saying it carries therein the declaration of the 
Palestinian people’s full surrender to the Israeli enemy.

He warned "Israel" and its allies that Palestinians “cannot surrender to 
their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made” and accused the 
enemy of attempting to extract by negotiation what it could not achieve 
through war.

“If the enemy insists on achieving by negotiations what it could not 
achieve by war, then we must stand strong,” he said.

“The enemy and its allies threaten us continuously with killing and 
destruction if we do not surrender… have they not done that already?” 
the Resistance leader stressed.

*Read more: Palestinian Resistance factions welcome Hamas response to 
Trump plan 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/palestinian-resistance-factions-welcome-hamas-response-to-tr>*


    'We must emerge with our heads held high'

Addressing the public and Resistance cadres, al-Nakhalah said that 
Palestine stands at a strategic crossroads but that the path of justice 
is clear.

“We must emerge from this battle with our heads held high,” he said.

He affirmed that the Palestinian people “will not raise the banners of 
surrender over Gaza” and insisted the struggle must preserve dignity and 
inherent rights.

“We are rightful owners [of our cause], and we must fight to reclaim our 
rights,” he underscored.

*Read more: Hamas rejects fabricated reports on its disarmament stance 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hamas-rejects-fabricated-reports-on-its-disarmament-stance>*


    Commemoration: two years of steadfastness

On the anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/al-aqsa-flood-restored-palestinian-cause-on-the-global-stage>, 
al-Nakhalah paid tribute to Palestinian steadfastness and the continued 
activity of Resistance factions.

“For two years, the Palestinian people have remained patient and defiant 
and refused to surrender. For two years, the valiant Palestinian 
Resistance has not ceased to fight the enemy and to inflict losses in 
the field day after day,” he said.

He added that the Palestinian people remain steadfast and that the 
Resistance “is still active on the ground.”

Al-Nakhalah argued that the aggression has mobilized global conscience 
in solidarity with Palestinians, while "Israel" continues to “kill and 
destroy everything,” and the people refuse to submit to “the killers and 
criminal Zionists.”

*Read more: True peace in Middle East requires a Palestinian state: 
El-Sisi 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/true-peace-in-middle-east-requires-a-palestinian-state--el-s>*


    Negotiations ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh

The ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh follow nearly two 
years of indirect diplomacy aimed at ending "Israel’s" war on Gaza and 
securing a lasting truce.

Hamas, through its senior advisor Taher al-Nounou, has emphasized that 
the movement entered the talks with a “positive and responsible” 
approach to advance progress toward an agreement that ensures the 
withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces and a full ceasefire. Al-Nounou 
confirmed that the latest round of talks saw the exchange of prisoner 
lists between both sides and noted that mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and 
the United States are exerting “serious efforts to remove obstacles” to 
the ceasefire’s implementation.

The negotiations revolve around a 20-point peace framework put forward 
by Trump, which outlines a phased truce, an Israeli withdrawal from 
Gaza, and the release of prisoners and captives. The US president 
described the talks as advancing at a “very rapid and highly successful 
pace” and confirmed that US envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared 
Kushner are leading the American delegation in Egypt.

Hamas, while engaging constructively, has reaffirmed that any agreement 
must guarantee a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal, and 
the reconstruction of Gaza under Palestinian supervision. The movement 
has also linked aspects of Trump’s plan related to governance and 
sovereignty to broader national consensus discussions, reflecting the 
collective position of Palestinian Resistance factions that any post-war 
arrangements must uphold Palestinian rights and self-determination.

*Read more: Gaza must remain Palestinian, Palestinians must govern Gaza: 
Erdogan 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gaza-must-remain-palestinian--palestinians-must-govern-gaza>*

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