Mahmoud al-Mardawi, one of the senior members of Hamas, said on Monday that if Israel does not change its proposal for a ceasefire and an exchange deal in a way that includes the basic demands of the Palestinian Arabs, it will not be possible to make progress in the negotiations.
In an interview with the Palestinian Arab Safa news agency, Al-Mardawi said that "the Israeli proposal did not include anything new, except for minor changes regarding the displaced and humanitarian aid, and it did not deal with the main issues."
"The Israeli proposal forwarded to Hamas contains no basis for any agreement, and there is no statement in it regarding a ceasefire, the withdrawal of IDF forces from the entire territory of the Gaza Strip and the return of the displaced freely without Israeli intervention," he added.
Al-Mardawi also said that "there is no concept in the Israeli proposal on which to move forward regarding the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, rather it focuses on the issue of the return of the hostages."
He noted that "Hamas submitted a proposal to release Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for the release of every Israeli female soldier, and adult Palestinian prisoners regardless of the prison sentence against them in exchange for every adult hostage. Israel has no right to veto the release of prisoners serving life sentences or interfere in the question of when and how they will be released."