Haddad’s rejection complicates the situation: Arab pressure on Hamas to soften its stance on Trump’s plan
Al-Khamisa News Network - Gaza
Arab diplomats said Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are intensifying pressure on Hamas to push it to show some flexibility toward US President Donald Trump’s plan, and to narrow its objections to only a few items.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Hamas is close to submitting an official response to the US proposal, which is expected to be delivered to mediators in the coming days.
But the position of Ezzedine al-Haddad, head of the movement’s military wing in Gaza, threatens to complicate the picture. A British report said the Egyptian and Qatari mediators contacted al-Haddad, who affirmed his categorical rejection of the 21-point plan, saying it effectively aims to end the movement’s rule “whether it agrees to it or not,” and therefore “resistance is the only option.”
By contrast, some of Hamas’s political leaders residing in Qatar have shown willingness to discuss the plan and even accept it with amendments, but their influence remains limited because the file on Israeli captives and decisions on the ground are in the hands of the military wing in Gaza.
Several provisions in the US document raise broad objections within Hamas, most notably:
The temporary international force which the movement regards as “a new form of occupation.”
Disarmament, which would strip it of the instrument that gives it political and security control over Gaza.
The release of Israeli captives within 72 hours, which Hamas views as a loss of its strongest bargaining chip in negotiations, especially in the absence of guarantees obliging Israel to halt the war or fully withdraw from the Strip.
Reuters quoted a Palestinian source familiar with the movement’s talks with factions as saying: “Accepting the plan is a disaster, and rejecting it is another disaster. All available options are bitter.” He added: “The plan is essentially Netanyahu’s plan drafted by Trump. Hamas wants to end the war and the extermination, but it will respond in a way that serves the supreme interest of the Palestinian people.”
In Washington, the White House stressed that President Trump will set a time limit for Hamas to respond to the proposal, saying in a statement on Thursday that “the time available to the movement to make a decision is running out,” just days after announcing the plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
