Netanyahu conveys that Israel cannot accept Hamas’ demands to stop the war in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected demands by Hamas to end the war in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages, saying it would keep the Palestinian Islamist group in power, which will continue to pose a threat to Israel’s security, Reuters reports.

Netanyahu said that Israel is willing to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip to secure the release of the hostages still held by Hamas, who are believed to be more than 130, reports Agerpres.

“But while Israel has shown willingness, Hamas remains entrenched in its extreme positions, primarily in demanding the removal of all our forces from the Gaza Strip, an end to the war, and leaving Hamas in power.” , Netanyahu said.

Israel “cannot accept” Hamas’ request that a ceasefire agreement currently being discussed in Cairo provide for a definitive end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli prime minister said, quoted by AFP.

“Israel cannot accept this. Hamas would be able to fulfill its promise to carry out massacres, rapes and kidnappings again and again and again,” he insisted.

“We are not prepared to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions leave their shelters, take control of the Gaza Strip, rebuild their military infrastructure and threaten Israeli citizens again in the adjacent communities,” said the Israeli prime minister, also quoted by EFE.

Netanyahu stated that Israel will not accept the demands of the Palestinian group and that it will continue to fight until it achieves all its goals in the war.

“Hamas is the one preventing the release of the kidnapped people. We are doing everything possible to free the kidnapped people”, he assured.

Palestinian sources told EFE on Saturday that the leader of the Islamist group in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, “wants a written American commitment for an unconditional end to the fighting” and also requests that Israel not prevent Palestinians released in exchange for Israeli hostages to return to occupied West Bank.

In Cairo, Hamas leaders held a second day of talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on a truce, with apparently no reported progress, as the group maintained its demand that any deal provide for a permanent end to the war in the Gaza Strip. , Palestinian officials said.