Hamas spokesman says terrorist organization has ‘no aspiration to govern Gaza’; group’s control of enclave remains major obstacle in negotiations over permanent ceasefire.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement on Saturday called on its Islamist rivals in the Hamas terror group to relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in order to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians in the coastal enclave.
“Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,” Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said.
He called on Hamas to “step aside from governing and fully recognize that the battle ahead will lead to the end of Palestinians’ existence” if the group remains in power in Gaza.
A spokesman from Hamas responded to al-Hayek’s comments, saying that the terror group “is prepared to accept any arrangement regarding the administration of Gaza that garners agreement.”
He added that Hamas has “no aspiration to govern Gaza” and is instead concerned with “national consensus.”
Hamas’s refusal so far to relinquish its control of the Strip and to disarm has been the main sticking point in negotiations with Israel over a permanent ceasefire.
The terror group seized power in Gaza in 2007 from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority after a violent coup, and subsequent attempts at reconciliation have failed.
The territory has been devastated by an Israeli offensive following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, which saw terrorists kill some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnap 251.
After talks to extend the January ceasefire failed, Israel resumed airstrikes against Gaza terror targets on Tuesday, followed by ground operations the day after. Hamas responded with rocket fire toward Israel on consecutive days.
On Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to annex parts of Gaza unless Hamas frees the remaining Israeli hostages seized during the October 7 massacre.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.
In mid-January, Israel and Hamas agreed to a hostage-ceasefire deal that officially lasted 42 days and saw the terror group release 30 living hostages and the bodies of eight slain captives, while Israel released almost 2,000 terrorists and other prisoners, before the expiration of the deal’s first phase.
The deal had originally envisioned a potential second phase that would see a permanent end to the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages and many more Palestinian security prisoners, but Israel has refused to allow any long-term settlement that would keep Hamas as the governing power in the Strip.
Netanyahu ordered the resumption of fighting in Gaza overnight Monday-Tuesday, saying talks moving forward would be held under fire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend phase one of the ceasefire.
Hamas has insisted on sticking to the terms of the deal signed by Netanyahu in January, which required the sides to begin holding talks on phase two in early February. Israel largely refused to do so.
Phase two envisions the release of all remaining living hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoner releases, a permanent end to the war, and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Netanyahu signed on to a framework that included these stipulations but has also insisted that Israel will not leave Gaza until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities have been dismantled.
