Hamas warns Gazans have 'nothing to lose'
The deadlock remains in Cairo, as Israel refuses to budge on Hamas’ demand to lift the siege and the Palestinian group, warning it will return to the battlefield if no progress is made.
Hamas reluctantly agreed to a new, 72-hour cease-fire proposed by Egypt, starting Aug. 11, after the first truce expired on the morning of Aug. 8, but much to the angst of its rank and file who are adamant to lift the Israeli siege on Gaza.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, who is participating in the talks, told Al-Monitor over the phone, “The Palestinian delegation agreed to the new truce after the Egyptian mediator told us that Israel had agreed on it to resume the negotiations. The Israeli delegation had arrived in Cairo without any previous conditions — [as] it had tried to impose in the past — and it had started the continuous negotiations to answer our people’s demands and rights, after our delegation had presented what the Egyptians offered us. Israel is dodging the issue, trying to waste time and escape its responsibilities. It is held responsible for not being able to reach an agreement yet.”
A Hamas official told Al-Monitor, “The movement has a wide range of options that should not be limited to either extending the truce or renewing the clashes with Israel. When we refused the extension of the cease-fire, we did not fire rockets at Israel as much as we did during the days of war. [Izz ad-Din] Al-Qassam Brigades only intervened at the last minute while the other factions continued to fire rockets at a slower pace, since Hamas wished for the negotiations’ success.”
Despite the cease-fire, negotiations don’t appear to be advancing, a PLO member of the delegation told Al-Monitor over the weekend. According to Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas leader who is participating in the talks, the negotiations are failing because Israel has not responded positively to the Palestinian humanitarian demands. “The Palestinians have nothing to lose,” Marzouk said. “They will either die under the siege or under Israeli shelling. The delegation did not sense a true seriousness from Israel in the negotiations, since it is still stalling to answer to the Palestinian demands.”
