US President Donald Trump is expected to draw a red line on how long Hamas will be given to accept a ceasefire proposal backed by Israel, the White House confirmed Thursday, according to Reuters.
While no enforcement deadline was explicitly stated, Trump had said earlier this week Hamas would have three to four days to respond to the plan, which includes a demand for the terrorist group’s disarmament, a condition Hamas has previously rejected.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, speaking on Fox News, was asked to clarify when Hamas would be considered to have “walked away” from the deal.
“Well, it's a very good question, and it's a red line that the president of the United States is going to have to draw. And I'm confident that he will,” Leavitt replied.
She emphasized the administration’s efforts in crafting the proposal: “The president and his team worked very hard on this 20-point, comprehensive, detailed plan that has been applauded all over the world.”
“This is an acceptable plan, and we hope and we expect Hamas should accept this plan so we can move forward,” she added.
CBS News reported on Tuesday that Hamas is leaning toward accepting Trump’s proposal to end the war.
On Wednesday morning, however, a senior Hamas figure told the BBC that the terrorist group is likely to reject Trump's peace plan because, the source claimed, it "serves Israel's interests" and "ignores those of the Palestinian people".
On Thursday, the BBC reported that Qatar and Egypt contacted the head of Hamas' military wing in Gaza, Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, who made it clear that he opposes Trump’s plan.
According to the report, al-Haddad believes that the US plan is intended to bring about the end of Hamas' rule - whether the terrorist organization agrees to it or not - and therefore, from his perspective, there is no point in accepting it, and Hamas must continue fighting.