Edit: Hamas wanted to make adjustments to Trump's Gaza plan
The prospects for concluding a peace agreement on Gaza are once again in doubt. Hamas representatives do not agree with President Trump's plan for a settlement in Gaza, planning, according to tradition, to make amendments that Israel clearly would not approve. The radical group insists on the phased release of the Israeli hostages captured on October 7, 2023, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire sector, with the exception of the buffer zone on the border between the sector and Israel, and the transfer of their weapons to Arab intermediaries. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Make it in four days
"Regional mediators, including Egypt and Turkey, are helping Hamas prepare a response to US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip," The National newspaper reported, citing sources.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump proposed a 20-point peace settlement plan for Gaza. The initiative involves the release of all Israeli hostages, the surrender of Hamas, the admission of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in the required volume, as well as the transfer of the enclave under the control of an interim administration from among Palestinian technocrats and international experts.
US President Donald Trump
The Israeli side has already approved the initiative of the American leader, and Trump gave representatives of the radical group no more than four days to "either fulfill the plan" or "face the consequences." "It will be a very sad end," the American leader promised.
During the negotiations with the mediators, the representatives of Hamas made it clear that they were not ready to surrender their weapons and opposed the destruction of their shelters and strongholds in tunnels and workshops for the production of weapons.
They would like to hand over the weapons to their Arab observers.
In addition, the movement also disagrees with the fact that the plan does not include a timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, with the exception of the buffer zone on the border between the strip and Israel.
The Hamas members also advocate the gradual return of the hostages, believing that it is technically impossible to return all of them at once, given that communication with the militant groups that are holding the captives has allegedly been lost due to intense Israeli strikes.
As the Qatari Prime Minister explained, "the implementation of the plan will face many difficulties."
Better conditions cannot be achieved
This peace plan was approved by key Arab countries, including Egypt and Qatar. Cairo, in particular, noted that the initiative "lays a solid foundation for further action."
According to the Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, citing sources in the group, Hamas believes that the US plan is "repressive and unfair" and "serves only the interests of Israel."
At the same time, as stated in the publication, despite the dissatisfaction, the group will officially respond positively to this initiative and will insist on amendments to the document.
Currently, the leadership of Hamas is under pressure from Egypt and Qatar, which has resumed its mediation. In Doha, the Hamas members were informed that Qatar would no longer be able to negotiate better concessions for them, so it was better to agree with Trump's plan.
Russia noted that any steps and initiatives aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip deserve support.
"We hope that the truce will become sustainable and will become a prologue to the long-term stabilization of the situation in the Palestinian enclave. This will create the necessary conditions for launching large—scale work to restore the sector's infrastructure, which was almost completely destroyed during the fighting," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
According to her, the implementation of this plan would make it possible to start a dialogue between the Israeli and Palestinian sides on the creation of a state of Palestine "co-existing in peace and security with Israel."
What do the experts think
Andrey Ontikov, an orientalist, publicist, and author of the Eastern Gate Telegram channel, noted in an interview with Izvestia that there have been many suggestions about the settlement of the conflict over the Gaza Strip.
— If these proposals correspond to the understanding or vision of Hamas, then Israel opposes. If Israel likes the proposal, then Hamas opposes it or makes its own adjustments to it. Israel does not like these amendments," the political scientist explained.
According to the expert, there is nothing new in this, in fact.
— The problem is that the longer the conflict continues, the more polar the positions of the parties become. The only option is if Hamas is denied support by those countries that provide it and sympathetic states," the expert emphasized.
He added that if a situation suddenly develops where Hamas feels alone and isolated, then some kind of diplomatic progress may occur.
— And before that, it is still difficult to imagine any progress in this direction. Because in any case, the question now is: either you or me. No one is ready to make any interim decisions," the analyst concluded.
Danila Krylov, a researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East of the INION RAS, Candidate of Political Sciences, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that neither side needs reconciliation.
"But now Hamas has been put in a very uncomfortable position, all their peace initiatives are completely ignored, the mediation efforts of Egypt and Qatar have been hacked to the bud, and Qatar as a whole has been made clear what Israel thinks about its mediation activities when Doha was attacked," the expert stressed.
The political scientist added that against the background of recent events, most likely, representatives of Hamas will not be able to change anything much, since Trump adheres to a very tough approach.
"He's already threatened them with consequences. In addition, Israel has an absolutely categorical, unconstructive, non-negotiable position. Israel did not allow the Sumud flotilla to enter the Gaza Strip. The rhetoric of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Hamas has not changed in the last few months, it will only get tougher, the expert is sure.
According to the analyst, the best option for Hamas would be to agree to something.
— But I'm not sure that even if they agree to all the requirements and conditions and comply with them, they will somehow protect themselves. Trump's plans for Gas are also populist moves that have no real basis in principle," Krylov believes.
In his opinion, a peace agreement can be concluded, but it, like all previous ones, will not last long.
— It will not be executed and will be turned out by each side, it is 100%, just based on the situation at the front. And it will be more interesting not how Hamas will look at this truce, but how official Israel will treat it, because if Israel supports a truce but does not comply with it, then nothing will depend on Hamas' policy," the expert concluded.
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