GAZA CITY: Palestinian group Hamas has expressed its readiness to begin implementing a U.S.-backed peace plan for Gaza, provided that Israel also agrees to the proposed arrangements and begins fulfilling its commitments.
A Hamas official, speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday on condition of anonymity, said that Hamas and other Palestinian factions had informed mediators of their willingness to begin implementing the agreement and move into its second phase.
The official said Hamas was urging the U.S. administration to exert pressure on Israel to comply with the agreement and facilitate progress toward the next stage.
The development comes after former U.S. President Donald Trump described Hamas’s reported willingness to disarm under the proposed plan as a significant development. According to the plan, Israel would gradually withdraw its forces from large parts of the Gaza Strip in return for steps by Hamas toward disarmament.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the suggestion that Israel has agreed to the current draft. On Tuesday, Netanyahu said Israel had not accepted the “draft” presented by the Board of Peace.
Netanyahu had met with the Board of Peace’s senior representative for Gaza, Nikolay Mladenov, on Monday. Following the meeting, Mladenov clarified that Israel would only withdraw from Gaza after Hamas had been completely disarmed.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has continued to signal that its operations against Hamas will proceed, highlighting the significant differences that remain between the parties over the implementation of the proposed peace framework.
Hamas’s latest statement indicates a willingness to move forward with the agreement, but the process remains dependent on Israeli approval, implementation of the proposed terms and resolution of major disagreements over disarmament and Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
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