“I say clearly that the occupation [Israël] bears the responsibility for not reaching an agreement, but I say that we are open to continuing negotiations, in whatever form it takes,” assured the Hamas leader.
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Hamas remains “open to negotiations” on a truce in Gaza, declared Sunday March 10 the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Ismaïl Haniyeh, in a message on the eve of Ramadan which begins in several Muslim countries.
“I say clearly that the occupation [Israël] bears responsibility for not reaching an agreement, but I say that we are open to continuing negotiations, in whatever form they take.”he assured in a televised message.
“If we receive from our brother mediators a clear commitment from the occupier to withdraw [de la bande de Gaza], to stop its aggression and allow the return of the displaced, we are ready to move forward and show flexibility on the exchange [d’otages et de prisonniers]”, he added. The Hamas leader said he had been in contact with the mediators “a few hours” before his speech, but without results.
No truce despite the start of Ramadan
Despite several days of discussions last week in Cairo, the mediating countries – the United States, Qatar and Egypt – have so far failed to reach an agreement on a truce before the start of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting which starts Monday. Israel did not send a delegation to Cairo.
Hamas is demanding in particular a definitive ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops before any agreement on the release of hostages still held in Gaza. There are 130 of them according to the Israeli authorities, of whom 31 are believed to have died.
Israel demands that Hamas provide a precise list of hostages still alive but the Palestinian movement has said it does not know who was “alive or dead” among them.
