Hamas Submits Three Phase "Realistic" Truce Proposal; Netanyahu Calls It "Delusional" (image@UNRWA)
After considering the demands put forward by Hamas over the proposed truce agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the call for ceasefire and hostage release agreement. In a proposal submitted to the mediators in Qatar, Hamas listed out plans for truce with Israel. Netanyahu rejected the peace agreement by calling them “delusional”, as per CBC News. The Israeli leader vowed to continue the genocidal war on Gaza until achieving “absolute victory”. His remarks came shortly after the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He said, “Surrendering to Hamas”s delusional demands that we heard now not only won”t lead to freeing the captives, it will just invite another massacre”.
Proposed Truce Plan of Hamas:
First stage:
The peace plan of Hamas, which it calls “reasonable and realistic”, suggested a three-stage process that would see hostages and prisoners release on both sides. Each stage would last for 45 days.
In the first stage of the truce agreement proposed by Hamas, it said that all Israeli female hostages that the group abducted on October 7th will be released. Male captives under 19 will also be released, and those who are not members of or the conscript of the Israeli occupation force, the elderly and the sick will be also be released.
In return, Hamas demands Israel to release 1,500 Palestinians being held in Israeli prison, including women, children, and elderly people. It is also added that among the Palestinian prisoners to be released, 500 would have to be people currently serving life sentences and other extended terms.
As of October 2023, around 5,200 Palestinians were in Israeli prisons, including 33 children and 170 women.
Hamas also asked at least 500 humanitarian aid and fuel trucks to be allowed into Gaza daily. It also asked for the provision of 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 tents, and asserted that the displaced Palestinians in Gaza must be allowed to freely return to their homes. The group has not stipulated where the funding for the homes and tents should be from.
Additionally, Hamas asked all the crossings into Gaza Strip to be opened, and Palestinians in Gaza, who require medical care be able to travel freely out of the Strip. Hamas add that, at this time, talks around the requirements for a “complete truce” can start.
Second Stage:
In the second phase, which is also to last 45 days, Hamas said it will release all the male Israeli captives that are remaining. In return, the Israeli troops will have to withdraw from all areas of Gaza.
Hamas said that at this point, further humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza, and reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure must begin. It is also said that talks about the requirements for “complete truce” and a return to “state of calm” must be reached before the beginning of the next stage.
Third Stage:
In the third stage, Hamas proposes that both sides will release any bodies or remains of the citizens of both the sides, after due identification process. Humanitarian measures agreed to in the first and second stages must also be continued.
Hamas said that each stage of the truce must be completed before the next phase starts. It also added that Israel must facilitate full reconstruction of destroyed houses in Gaza, including public facilities and other economic infrastructure within three years.
The group also demands that Israeli settlers should stop attacking Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the situation in Mosque to be returned to pre-2002 conditions. It is not clear which conditions are the group is referring to.
However, Hamas is not ready to negotiate on any terms of the proposal. Talking to Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesperson Muhammed Nazzal said, “among these details, none can be compromised…the Israeli killing machine must be brought to a halt. We wish to see [the] Israeli occupation forces’ withdrawal from the Gaza Strip entirely. Our response is realistic and our demands are reasonable”.
US President Joe Biden called the proposal “a little over the top”.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken warned Israel that it does not have a “license to dehumanise others”. During a press conference in Tel Aviv, Blinken said that “Israelis were dehumanised in the most horrific way on October 7. The hostages have been dehumanised every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanise others”.
Blinken, who is on his tour to Israel also added that the overwhelming majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the October 7th attack.
However, talking to Al Jazeera, the US Secretary of State said that the short answer for Hamas playing any role in the governance of Gaza post war is “no”.
Meanwhile, US Senator Elizabeth Warren said the “blank cheque” provided to Netanyahu’s “right-wing” government should be stopped, as it “failed to get the hostages released and have killed 30,000 Palestinians”.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing government have failed to get the hostages released and have killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians. No more blank checks for Netanyahu. We need to condition aid, resume the cease-fire, and advance peace through a two-state solution.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 8, 2024
