‘No deal with Israel without full cease-fire, withdrawal from Gaza’

Hamas and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said Wednesday that there would be no agreement with Israel without a comprehensive cease-fire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

“The situation in the Gaza Strip after the war (once it ends) is a pure Palestinian matter,” the two groups said in a statement. “Any force, no matter its origin, that acts outside the national consensus will be treated as an occupying power.”

In recent months, several countries, led by the U.S., have repeatedly asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to present a plan for the day after on Gaza.

Israel’s opposition, meanwhile, has criticized Netanyahu, accusing him of entering the war without a post-war plan and has rejected any form of military rule in Gaza, citing the potential for “heavy losses.”

Netanyahu has vowed to “eliminate” Hamas and insisted it will not govern Gaza after the war. He accuses the Palestinian Authority of “terrorism,” without specifying what alternative governance he envisions.

The Palestinian resistance group and the DFLP stated: “We reaffirm that no deals with the Zionist occupation will be made without a comprehensive cease-fire, full withdrawal from Gaza, lifting the blockade, reconstruction, and a serious prisoner exchange.”

Indirect negotiations between Tel Aviv and Hamas have reached a critical stage due to Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war and holding onto the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors in southern and central Gaza.

Hamas, however, demands a full Israeli withdrawal and the return of displaced people without restrictions.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack in early last October despite a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 41,100 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and more than 95,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio

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