Hostages in Gaza
Hostages in GazaMiriam Alster/Flash 90

Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, says that Hamas is ready to implement the draft agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal which was reached at the beginning of July, but without any additional conditions.

In an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper, Naim said, "There is no negotiation now, because unfortunately the Zionist enemy is walking down the wrong path, continuing the war and even striving to expand it into a regional war so that it may be able to implement the plans it has been dreaming of for decades."

Naim noted that "it (the enemy - Israel) does not now want to enter into any serious negotiations for a ceasefire, even though we (Hamas) reached an outline of a deal for a ceasefire this past July 2, we stuck to the agreement and were ready to carry it out."

He further claimed that "there is no doubt that the renewal of negotiations on a ceasefire requires external pressure, in particular from the entity's (Israel) allies who give it backing and support for the war, and in particular the United States, which supplies it with weapons, and also requires internal pressure to force the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go for the deal."

In this context, Naim said that without external and internal pressure, "Netanyahu will continue to act in accordance with his personal interests and the interests of his party," adding that all that is required now is to act in accordance with what was agreed upon on July 2 "without placing any new conditions, such as those that Netanyahu is requesting, and he is the one who is responsible for an agreement not being reached because of his political arrogance."

"This war will end whether Netanyahu wants it or not, and it will end with the help of Allah in the victory of the resistance and our (Palestinian) people, and in the defeat of this enemy, and it (will be) a big step on the way to the liberation (of Palestine) and the elimination of this entity," said Naim.

Naim further noted that, in talks recently held between representatives of Fatah and Hamas, the inclusion of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the ranks of the PLO was discussed, among other things, so that the organization would represent the entire “Palestinian people” in “Palestine” and the diaspora, as well as the establishment of a national unity government that would be responsible for managing Palestinian affairs in Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

Hamas has continuously rejected every proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that has been presented to it.

Last month, Hamas once again said that its negotiators reiterated the group’s readiness to implement an "immediate" ceasefire with Israel in Gaza based on a previous US proposal without new conditions from any party.