Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, has responded to the statement by Israel’s prime minister suggesting “a partial” truce to get some captives back. He says that Benjamin Netanyahu’s ceasefire stance is to avoid reaching a deal, to stall for time, and to continue "the war of genocide" in the Gaza Strip.
“Netanyahu’s true stance is to avoid reaching an agreement, to stall for time, and to continue the war of genocide,” he said.
“It’s become clear to the world that Netanyahu is the one who rejects and obstructs what was outlined in Biden’s speech and the recent UN Security Council resolution, not Hamas,” he added.
“Netanyahu’s talk of concluding a partial agreement and continuing the aggression confirms he’s lying to the families of the prisoners and does not care about their lives,” the Hamas official continued, stating, “The ball is now in the court of the war criminal Netanyahu, and the US administration must lift its cover of silence and bias and put pressure on Netanyahu and his government to stop the aggression and genocidal war.”
“We reiterate the positive stance of Hamas in dealing with the efforts of the mediators in Qatar and Egypt to reach an agreement that ensures a permanent cessation of the aggression, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a prisoner exchange deal.”
Netanyahu has stated he is open to a “partial deal” with Hamas that allows him to continue the war on the besieged enclave after some of the captives are released.
A deal that permanently ends the war was not an option until Hamas is “eliminated”, he told Channel 14 on Sunday.
Eliminating Hamas is a goal believed unachievable by the Israeli military and many experts.
Netanyahu’s comments appeared to contradict several top US officials, who for weeks said Israel agreed to an outline presented by President Joe Biden in May, which leads to a permanent ceasefire.
“I’m not prepared to end the war and leave Hamas in place. I am prepared to do a partial deal, that’s no secret, that would return some of the people to us,” the premier said in the TV interview.
“We are obligated to continue the fighting after a pause to complete our goal of destroying Hamas,” he continued, adding, “I’m not prepared to give up on that.”
The Gaza Strip has been gripped by more than eight months of war since a Hamas-led attack on Israel led to the deaths of 1,200 people, with dozens still held captive in Gaza.
Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has since killed at least 37,600 people, according to the Palestinian territory’s Ministry of Health.
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