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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">‘No Israeli withdrawal, no ceasefire deal’: Hamas</h1><p class="gmail-">A new US-backed ‘bridging proposal’ has failed to address the resistance’s main terms for a Gaza ceasefire</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">News Desk</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span>AUG 22, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/no-israeli-withdrawal-no-ceasefire-deal-hamas">https://thecradle.co/articles/no-israeli-withdrawal-no-ceasefire-deal-hamas</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/d2440c72-6078-11ef-a840-00163e02c055.webp" alt="" width="396" height="223" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo credit: Reuters)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span><p>Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement <a href="https://sarabic.ae/20240822/%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83-%D9%84%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%82-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9-1091984825.html">released a joint statement</a>
on 22 August, confirming that the resistance will reject any agreement
that does not include an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. </p><p>The
joint statement was issued following a meeting between PIJ
Secretary-General Ziad Nakhala and Hamas Shura Council head Mohammad
Darwish in Qatar’s capital, Doha. </p><p>The statement stressed the
“necessity of stopping the aggression and war to which the Palestinian
people are being subjected and punishing the leaders of the occupation
for the crimes they are committing against humanity.” </p><p>“The
position of the resistance and the Palestinian people on achieving any
agreement is a comprehensive cessation of aggression, a complete
withdrawal from the Strip, the start of reconstruction, and the end of
the siege with a serious exchange deal,” the joint statement added. </p><p>It
also held “the occupation leaders responsible for aborting the efforts
undertaken by the mediators through their insistence on continuing the
aggression and denying what was done in previous stages, especially the
proposal approved by the movement [Hamas] on 2 July.”</p><p>Additionally,
the Hamas and PIJ statement renewed the call for the immediate delivery
of sufficient amounts of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,
warning of the “consequences of the continued collective punishment” by
Israel. </p><p>The statement comes as a new round of ceasefire <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-bridge-too-far-blinkens-desperate-bid-for-a-hostage-ceasefire-deal/">talks</a> – unattended by Hamas – are expected to kick off in the coming days.</p><p>The meetings were initially scheduled for Wednesday in the Egyptian capital but were delayed to an unspecified date. </p><p>“The
high-level Cairo meeting regarding the negotiations will be held on
Saturday or Sunday. The negotiating team is working around the clock to
bridge the gap, including the Philadelphi file with Egypt,” an Israeli
official told <i>Yedioth Ahronoth</i> on Thursday.</p><p>Hamas has rejected a new<a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/hamas-calls-out-us-bridging-proposal-for-gaza-ceasefire-not-what-we-agreed-to"> US-backed proposa</a>l
– which Washington says Israel has agreed to – for failing to address
the group’s demands for a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli
forces from Gaza, and several other issues.</p><p>It is unclear precisely what is in the new proposal. A <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/26478">Hamas official told</a> <i>Al-Sharq</i>
on 20 August that the proposal does not include an Israeli withdrawal
from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, as Hamas’ terms
stipulate. </p><p>Netanyahu himself confirmed on 20 August that Israel would refuse any withdrawal from the Gaza–Egypt border.</p><p>The
source also said the proposal demands a screening mechanism to inspect
displaced Gazans who would return to the northern strip as part of an
agreement – one of the many Israeli conditions complicating recent
negotiations.</p><p>It also does not guarantee a permanent ceasefire.
The US proposal states that “a permanent ceasefire will be discussed in
the second phase within a specific limit, and if Hamas does not agree to
the Israeli demands, the army will return to the war and carry out its
military operations,” according to the source.</p></span></div></div></div></div>
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