Trump says he believes Hamas ‘ready for peace,’ demands Israel immediately halt strikes in Gaza
US president welcomes terror group’s declaration that it accepts some parts of his proposal to release the hostages from Gaza and end the war, while seeking further talks
US President Donald Trump declared Friday that Hamas is “ready for a lasting PEACE,” calling on Israel for the first time to immediately stop striking in Gaza, as he appeared to wholeheartedly welcome the terror group’s response to his proposal for ending the war in Gaza.
The message from Trump came shortly after Hamas announced that it had submitted its response, in which it welcomed parts of the US proposal, while hinting at resistance regarding other sections and insisting that additional negotiations were needed to finalize the terms.
The statement announcing its response said Hamas is prepared to release all 48 remaining hostages under the terms laid out in the plan, which envisions them being released within 72 hours of a permanent ceasefire taking force and in exchange for over 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners along with the bodies of slain Gazans, and after Israel conducts the first phase of its withdrawal from Gaza.
But the Hamas statement stipulated that the hostages will be released when “the necessary field conditions for implementing the exchange” are in place.
Hamas did not elaborate further on this issue, but appeared to be suggesting it may not be able to release all 48 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to be alive — within 72 hours of the deal coming into place if conditions on the ground are not appropriate.
The terror group has, in the past, told mediators that it doesn’t know where some of the bodies of slain hostages are located and that it may take some time to deliver all of them back to Israel.
Following the Hamas response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office published a rare overnight statement during Shabbat stating that “Israel is prepared for the immediate implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all the hostages.”
“We will continue to work in full cooperation with the president and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles laid out by Israel, which correspond with Trump’s vision for ending the war,” said the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The statement did not mention Trump’s latest declaration or his demand for an immediate stop to Israeli strikes in Gaza, though Hebrew media reported that political leaders ordered the Israel Defense Forces to halt the campaign to conquer Gaza City following the US president’s statement.
Army Radio said the order called for operations to be reduced to “the minimum,” with troops on the ground strictly carrying out defensive maneuvers, and was issued after overnight talks between Israeli and US officials.
The IDF later put out a a statement saying “per the order of the political echelon,” Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed troops to gear up “for the implementation of the first stage of Trump’s plans to free the hostages,” without detailing what the order entailed, after meeting with top generals for “a special situational assessment in light of the developments.”
Seeming to confirm the reports that Netanyahu ordered Israeli forces to halt offensive maneuvers in Gaza, the statement said Zamir stressed “the security of our forces is of supreme importance and all the IDF’s capabilities will be allocated to Southern Command to defend our forces.”
“The chief of staff emphasized that in light of the operational sensitivity, forces must demonstrate increased readiness and awareness. Likewise, the need for a quick response to remove any threat was clarified,” the statement added.
Yes, but
Speaking to Al Jazeera after Hamas published its statement, the terror group’s Doha-based senior politburo member Musa Abu Marzuk said returning 48 captives in 72 hours was “unrealistic” while stressing Hamas agrees to the first nine points in Trump’s plan.
Hamas in its statement also reiterated its willingness to hand over control of Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats, as envisioned by the US proposal.
“As for what was included in President Trump’s proposal regarding other issues related to the future of the Gaza Strip and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, this… will be discussed through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, which Hamas will be part of,” the terror group said.
All other issues pertaining to the future of Gaza would include the question of whether Hamas will disarm, a key component of the US proposal that has been a red line for the terror group, which in the statement gave no indication it was prepared to accept.
Moreover, Hamas’s desire to be part of a national dialogue on the future political aspirations of the Palestinian people also appears to conflict with the terms of the deal, which stipulate that the Islamist terror organization can have no role — direct or indirect — in the governance of Gaza.
Marzouk told Al Jazeera that Hamas will not disarm before the Israeli “occupation” ends, adding that another round of negotiations needs to be held regarding Hamas’s weapons.
“We will hand over [our] weapons to the future Palestinian state, and whoever governs Gaza will have [our] weapons in his hand,” Marzouk stated.
Hamas said it conducted talks with other factions in order to come up with the response presented to the mediators.
The terrorist organization said it appreciated international efforts on the matter, including the one advanced by Trump, highlighting the US proposal’s provisions for ending the war, releasing Palestinian prisoners, surging aid into Gaza, opposing the occupation of the Strip and rejecting the displacement of Palestinians from the enclave.
It was not immediately clear whether the formal response submitted to the mediators was the same as the public statement, given that the latter also makes no mention of Hamas’s qualms regarding the proposal’s envisioned withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
An Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that Hamas and the mediators were expected to seek amendments regarding this issue, due to displeasure with the 11th-hour changes that Netanyahu secured to slow and limit the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Marzouk told Al Jazeera that Hamas accepts, in principle, the main tenants of the US plan, but argued that the proposal’s “implementation requires negotiation.”
It is unclear the extent to which the US is interested in holding additional negotiations.
Parts of the 20-point plan are indeed vague enough that subsequent talks would still likely have been required. For example, the plan states that Israeli forces “will withdraw to the agreed-upon line” upon the sides’ acceptance of the proposal, without specifying where that line is or whether it still needs to be negotiated.
It may be referring to the illustrative map demarcating the phased withdrawal of Israeli troops, but the image doesn’t appear to be created to exact scale.
Marzouk said the US plan’s envisioning of the creation of an international stabilization force to replace the IDF in Gaza “requires clarification.”
Regardless, he insisted that Hamas negotiated openly and responsibly with the US proposal.
Trump: Hamas wants peace, Israel must stop bombing Gaza
Trump appeared to agree with Marzouk, posting on Truth Social that after reviewing Hamas’s response, “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE.”
“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly!” he added, in what was the first time since returning to office that Trump has called on Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza.
“Right now, it’s far too dangerous” to extract the hostages, he argued.
“We are already in discussions on details to be worked out,” Trump said, indicating that he doesn’t have an issue with subsequent negotiations regarding the terms and implementation of his 20-point plan.
“This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump said, reiterating his belief that an end to the war in Gaza will pave way for the expansion of the Abraham Accords.
Trump also posted on Truth Social a copy of Hamas’s entire statement announcing the terror group’s response to his proposal for ending the Gaza war.
He did not comment on the proposal further, but it appeared to be a further sign that he at least somewhat approved of its contents.
Trump issued a separate video statement in which he declared “we’re very close” to ending the fighting in Gaza and achieving peace in the Middle East. Appearing to wholeheartedly embrace Hamas’s response as a win, Trump thanked all of the countries that “helped me put this together — Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and so many others.”
“This is a big day. We’ll see how it all turns out,” he said from the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk.
“We have to get the final word down in concrete,” he added, in a seeming acknowledgment that subsequent negotiations still need to be held despite his celebratory tone.
“I look forward to having the hostages come home to their parents,” he said, clarifying that some of the 48 hostages will be coming home in caskets, as only 20 are believed to be alive.
“This is a very special day, maybe unprecedented.”
“We were given a tremendous amount of help. Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East, and we’re very close to achieving that.” Trump continued.
“Thank you all, and everybody will be treated fairly,” he stressed in an apparent message to the sides, neither of which may be completely satisfied with all parts of his plan for ending the war.
PM caught off guard; hostage families, Egypt and Qatar thrilled
Netanyahu was caught off guard by Trump’s response, having expressed his view that Hamas’s reply was an effective rejection during an internal deliberation on its statement before the US president’s announcement, Channel 12 news reported
Netanyahu also stressed during the consultation the need to coordinate with the US on a response so it would not seem Hamas responded affirmatively, according to the network, which added that security officials involved in the negotiations believe differently — that the statement from Hamas could help pave the way to a deal.
The Hostage Family Forum said it “stands firmly” with Trump in his effort to end the war and called the president’s immediate ceasefire demand “essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages.”
“We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home,” the forum added in its statement.
For its part, Qatar welcomed what it described as Hamas’s agreement to Trump’s proposal along with its readiness to release all remaining hostages under the terms outlined in the plan.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari also backed Trump’s subsequent announcement calling for “for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate the safe and swift release of hostages.”
Ansari said Qatar and fellow Arab mediator Egypt have already begun talks, in coordination with the US, to “complete discussions on the plan to ensure an end to the war.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry also embraced Hamas’s response to Trump’s proposal, which Cairo said reflects the terror group’s willingness to spare additional Palestinian civilians along with a desire to “end a dark period in the region’s history.”
The Egyptian statement thanked Trump for his efforts to end the war along with his rejection of Israeli annexation of the West Bank and the displacement of Palestinian people.
Hamas ‘given one last chance!’
Hamas submitted its response just hours after Trump made another Truth Social post to announce a Sunday 6 p.m. Eastern time (Monday 1 a.m. Israel time) deadline for Hamas to accept his proposal before “ALL HELL” breaks out against the terror group.
Trump wrote that Hamas’s remaining fighters are “MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO,’ for their lives to be quickly extinguished.”
“As for the rest, we know where and who you are, and you will be hunted down and killed,” the US president said.
“I am asking that all innocent Palestinians immediately leave this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza. Everyone will be well cared for by those who are waiting to help,” he added.
Trump didn’t specify from which parts of Gaza he wants civilians to flee, but he appeared to be referring to Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands still remain, as Israel advances its operation to take over what Netanyahu claims is Hamas’s last stronghold.
On Tuesday, Trump said that he would give Hamas three or four days to respond to his proposal and indicated that there wasn’t much more space for additional negotiations.
Channel 12 reported that Trump moved the deadline to Sunday after Qatar’s emir called him on Wednesday and asked him for a full week to bring Hamas on board
Qatari officials told their US counterparts that Hamas needs to consult with all of the factions in Gaza, as the terror group is not the only one holding hostages, Channel 12 reported.
The Qataris also argued that communication between Hamas’s Gaza-based leadership and its officials abroad takes time — something an unnamed senior Israeli official disputed to the network.
Trump agreed to extend the deadline, though, not for as long as the Qatari emir had requested.
A source familiar with the talks told The Times of Israel on Thursday that Hamas was slated to soon respond positively to the US proposal while adding a series of amendments — a move likened to what Netanyahu managed to do in the days before the plan was unveiled on Monday when he secured key changes to the document.
Egyptian and Qatari officials have also indicated that they would like to make some changes to the proposal after fuming over the amendments that Netanyahu convinced the US to make before the plan was unveiled.
“Fortunately for Hamas, however, they will be given one last chance! Great, powerful, and very rich nations of the Middle East, and the surrounding areas beyond, together with the United States of America, have agreed, with Israel signing on, to PEACE, after 3000 years, in the Middle East,” Trump wrote earlier Friday.
“THIS DEAL ALSO SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS! The details of the document are known to the WORLD, and it is a great one for ALL!” he added, apparently referring to the clause granting amnesty to “peace committing” Hamas operatives and granting those of them who want to leave safe access to unnamed countries.
“We will have PEACE in the Middle East one way or the other. The violence and bloodshed will stop,” Trump continued. “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”
He has several times in recent months claimed to give Hamas a “final warning” to release the hostages, without following through on those threats.
On September 8, Trump wrote on Truth, “I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning. There will not be another one.”
On March 5, he wrote, “Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you… This is your last warning!”
3 comments:
Even as an admitted Never-Trumper you should acknowledge that 45-47 has always treated Israel as a friend. 45-47 has gone beyond any person or country for that matter in assisting Israel. Yet, you continue to belittle his efforts with blog post titles that seldom share the good he has done for Israel. Do you really think 45-47 has a plan for Israel losing the war?
I have acknowledged on numerous posts that Trump has been the most pro-Israel president since Harry Truman and I do appreciate that very much. But lately he's been playing both sides. I believe that's payback for accepting Qatar's bribe of a $400 million luxury aircraft.
With Qatar's help, Hamas has been playing Trump like a fiddle and continues to do so with Trump's 20-point plan. While they have sort of agreed to the hostage release, Hamas has not agreed to most of the points. And while Trump does not intentionally want to endanger Israel, his plan is a blueprint for the eventual destruction of the Jewish state by the Palestinians who have vowed there will be only one state from the river to the sea, a Palestinian state that is Judenrein.
You call me a 'Never-Trumper', but you are so enamored of Trump that if he entered a a nunnery and murdered a dozen nuns, you would praise him for defending himself against a bunch of sexual predators.
Yes, I do call you a Never-Trumper. It's apparent that you can't help yourself.
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