The Hamas Movement slammed Israel for imposing new conditions to start the second stage of Gaza ceasefire agreement, saying they are unreasonable, and held Israel responsible for the negotiations’ failure.
The Hamas spokesman, Hazem Qassem, reiterated in a statement on Saturday his Movement’s full commitment to implementing all the terms of the agreement in all its stages and details.
Hamas called on the mediators, the guarantors, and the international community to place pressure on Israel to adhere to its obligations, and immediately start the second stage, without any procrastination.
Qassem affirmed that there were no ongoing talks with Hamas to begin the second stage of the ceasefire agreement and the exchange of prisoners, noting that Israel is trying to return matters to zero point.
“The occupation evades commitment to end the war and complete withdrawal from Gaza, and wants to return the Israeli captives with the possibility of resuming the aggression against the war-torn Palestinian enclave,” he said.
The first stage of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, which came into force on January 19, ended on Saturday.
