Hamas turns to Trump’s Board of Peace to pressure Israel over Gaza
Photo: Hamas demands a public acknowledgment from the Israeli Prime Minister (Getty Images)
The Hamas group has stated that it has appealed to Trump's Board of Peace to compel Israel to accept the Gaza peace plan, according to The Times of Israel.
The appeal was made after the group's leader met with Trump's special envoy Jared Kushner in Egypt.
"To compel the occupation to implement all its obligations under the first phase, end all violations, halt killings and incursions, [and] approve the roadmap for the second phase” of the US-brokered ceasefire plan," the group's statement reads.
In addition, sources say that Hamas representatives told Kushner they would begin implementing the disarmament plan only if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly confirmed his commitment to the terms of the plan.
Meanwhile, The Times of Israel writes that Netanyahu has publicly opposed the proposal and is unlikely to change his position ahead of the Knesset elections on October 27.
The Board of Peace, for its part, hopes that quietly persuading Netanyahu to resume the cessation of IDF strikes on Gaza will be enough for Hamas to begin surrendering its weapons.
However, an Arab diplomat says the militant group is unlikely to agree to this without a public statement from the Israeli prime minister supporting the Gaza peace plan.
What preceded this
Several weeks ago, US President Donald Trump announced that the Board of Peace had reached an agreement with Hamas on the group's disarmament, as well as the transfer of civilian and security control in the Gaza Strip to a new Palestinian government.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the peace initiative, stating that the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip would only happen with the real, not formal, cessation of Hamas's existence.
