Hamas issued a statement on Saturday, August 2, refuting remarks attributed to US Special Envoy to “the Middle East” Steve Witkoff that the Palestinian resistance movement showed willingness to “demilitarize” to end Israel’s ongoing genocidal aggression on Gaza.
“Resistance and its weapons is a national and legal entitlement as long as the occupation persists, and it has been recognized by international conventions and norms,” the statement reads.
Hamas added that it “will never relinquish this entitlement, unless all the national rights of the Palestinian people are reclaimed, above all the establishment of a fully independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital”.
The statement was released swiftly after the Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted Witkoff saying, during a meeting with the families of Israeli captives in the city of Tel Aviv on Saturday, that Hamas had agreed to disarm.
Haaretz also reported that the US official assured the families that the Trump administration is pushing for a single deal to have all the Israeli captives freed at once, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is committed to ending the 22-month aggression on the besieged Gaza strip.
Reports: Trump gave Netanyahu green light to occupy Gaza amid stalemate in ceasefire talks
The last few weeks saw an unprecedented stalemate in Gaza ceasefire negotiations, particularly after the spokesperson of the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of Hamas – Abu Obaida, declared on July 18, that Israel rejected a ceasefire deal proposal that would have led to the release of all Israeli captives.
Around one week later, Witkoff announced that the US decided to recall its negotiating team from the Qatari capital, Doha, blaming Hamas for not “being coordinated” or “acting in good faith”.
Israel also recalled its team from Doha on the same day of the US withdrawal, blaming Hamas for bringing forward “unacceptable demands”.
According to Axios, Hamas demanded the release of 200 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment, and 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza, who were detained by Israel after October 7, 2023.
On July 31, CNN reported that it was informed by a senior Hamas official that the movement decided to disengage from ceasefire negotiations until Israel stops its deliberate starvation of the people in Gaza.
However, Netanyahu and Trump appear to have become more intransigent than ever towards ending Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza, after Hamas’s disengagement.
A report published by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth late Monday, August 4, indicated that Trump gave the green light for the Netanyahu government to further expand the military operation in the war-torn enclave with the aim of “defeating Hamas” and achieving the “full occupation of Gaza”.
The post Hamas to Witkoff: “We will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established” appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.
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