Watan-Hamas demands a halt to the destructive Israeli war on the Gaza Strip as part of any prisoner exchange agreement, a demand rejected by Israeli ministers in the right-wing-dominated government.
Israeli Channel “Kan” quoted sources on Tuesday evening as saying that Hamas is demanding guarantees that Israel will not resume the war after the ceasefire ends.
According to the sources, Hamas stipulates the release of Israeli prisoners and detainees held by them at the end of the ceasefire days.
It stated that Hamas considers only 18 prisoners and detainees to meet humanitarian standards.
The sources mentioned that members of the War Council, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, set a red line before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is not to enter Rafah before exhausting the deal negotiations.
In contrast, Netanyahu faces significant pressure from extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for an immediate military operation in Rafah.
It is expected that Hamas will deliver its response to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators within hours regarding the Gaza ceasefire proposal and the exchange deal.
Israeli political and security officials unanimously agreed that the coming hours would be “decisive” for the planned military operation in Rafah and the mediators’ efforts to reach a deal.
Israeli media quoted officials from the Israeli army and political level as saying that Tel Aviv would make its decision within a maximum of 72 hours regarding “starting the operation in the city of Rafah in the south of the Strip, or reaching an agreement with Hamas on the prisoner exchange.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there is no change in the objectives of the war on the Gaza Strip, and Israel will not accept a settlement regarding Rafah.
He affirmed that Israeli forces would enter it whether there is a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange deal or not.
لماذا لا توافق حماس على أي صفقة لا تتضمن وقف الحرب؟
أولا: لأن إصرار العدو على عدم تضمين هذا الشرط دليل على تصميمه على العودة إلى الإبادة. فلماذا تعطيه أسراه وترفع عنه حرج قصفهم وتهديدهم؟!
ثانيا: لأن الموافقة على صفقة كهذه ستثبت أن ما يُسمّيه العدو “الضغط العسكري” نجح في تخليص…— براء نزار ريان (@BaraaNezarRayan) April 30, 2024
Why doesn’t Hamas agree to any deal that doesn’t include a ceasefire?
In this context, writer Baraa Nizar Rayan addressed the reasons why Hamas does not agree to any deal that does not include a ceasefire.
He said: “Firstly, because the enemy’s insistence on not including this condition is evidence of its determination to return to annihilation. So why give them their prisoners and relieve them of the embarrassment of bombing and threatening them?”
He continued: “Secondly, because agreeing to such a deal would prove that what the enemy calls ‘military pressure’ succeeded in releasing prisoners, and this will push the enemy to increase it!”
He added: “The resistance realizes that every prisoner released without a ceasefire guarantee is an indirect invitation to its continuation and is fueling its fire rather than the opposite, and therefore it holds onto the ember of patience and faces the pressures of the world as a whole.