Hamas indicates it is open to Trump’s peace plan: WSJ
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The news: Hamas has indicated that it is open to accepting the peace plan for Gaza proposed by US President Donald Trump, but has asked for more time to review conditions, according to Arab mediators cited by the Wall Street Journal.
The context: The militant group told mediators that it has reservations about certain terms in Trump’s 20-point plan, including the condition requiring it to disarm and destroy its weapons.
Hamas also said that releasing all 48 hostages within 72 hours, as proposed in the plan, would be difficult as it has lost contact in recent weeks with some other militant groups holding a number of them. Hamas officials also said that the plan leaves Palestinians without a credible path to statehood and includes loopholes that would allow Israel to resume the war, the WSJ reports.
The comments come after Hamas officials met with mediators in Doha on Tuesday and amid rising pressure from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to accept the proposal by Wednesday evening local time (overnight Thursday AEST).
Earlier this week, Trump warned that Hamas would be wiped out unless it agreed to the proposal, and said that the group had three or four days to agree to the deal.
In the last few days Qatar, Egypt and Turkey warned Hamas leaders that if the group rejects the Trump deal, it will no longer receive diplomatic support from them, the WSJ reports.
The sources: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg
