US says Hamas seeks changes to ceasefire plan; Hamas denies proposing new ideas
(VOVWORLD) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Hamas had proposed numerous changes, some unworkable, to a US-backed proposal for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, but that mediators were determined to close the gaps.
 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani at a press conference in Doha, June 12, 2024. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan denied that the Palestinian Islamist group had put forward new ideas. Speaking to pan-Arab Al-Araby TV, he reiterated Hamas' stance that it was Israel that was rejecting proposals and accused the US administration of going along with its close ally.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said many of Hamas' proposed changes were minor "and not unanticipated" while others differed more substantially from what was outlined in a UN Security Council resolution on Monday backing the plan put forward by US President Joe Biden.
"Our aim is to bring this process to a conclusion. Our view is that the time for haggling is over," Sullivan told reporters.
Hamas also wants written guarantees from the US on the ceasefire plan, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters.
Late on Wednesday, Hamas issued a statement stressing its "positivity" in the negotiations and urging the US to pressure Israel to accept an agreement leading to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as well as full withdrawal from the enclave, reconstruction and release of Palestinian prisoners.