A top Hamas political official has told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a five-year truce with Israel and that it will lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
Khalil al-Hayya, a high-ranking official with the Palestinian militant group, who has represented it in negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal, speaks during an interview for The Associated Press, in Istanbul , Turkey, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
“All the experiences of people who fought against occupiers, when they became independent and obtained their rights and their state, what have these forces done? They have turned into political parties and their defending fighting forces have turned into the national army,” he said.with respect to the possibility of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The war in Gaza has dragged on for nearly seven months and cease-fire negotiations have stalled. The war began with the deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Militants dragged some 250 hostages into the enclave. The ensuing Israeli bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians,
Israeli forces “have not destroyed more than 20% of capabilities, neither human nor in the field,” he asserted. “If they can’t finish off, what is the solution? The solution is to go to consensus.” But he said Hamas will not back down from its demands for a permanent cease-fire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops, both of which Israel has balked at. Israel says it will continue military operations until Hamas is definitively defeated and will retain a security presence in Gaza afterwards.
Israel-Hamas War Hamas Israel International Agreements Israel Government Khalil Al-Haya General News Istanbul Politics War And Unrest Prisoner Exchange World News I
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
An Associated Press photographer snaps a buzzy photo by focusing on the details during HoliAnupam Nath has been covering Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Guwahati in northeastern India for two decades
Read more »
Israel-Hamas war live updates: Palestinians return to Khan Younis; Hamas studying Gaza cease-fire proposalThis is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
Anti-Israel protesters heard shouting ‘We are Hamas,’ ‘Long live Hamas’ amid Columbia U demonstrationsSome protesters near Columbia University shouted pro-Hamas slogans this week as the anti-Israel protest began at the private university.
Read more »
Biden urges Egypt, Qatar leaders to press Hamas for hostage deal with IsraelPresident Joe Biden has written to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, calling on them to press Hamas for a hostage deal with Israel. The letters come one day after Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire in the six-month-old war in Gaza.
Read more »
Japan approves plan to sell fighter jets to other nations in latest break from pacifist principlesThe Associated Press
Read more »
Russia extends arrest of U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has already spent nearly a year in jailThe Associated Press
Read more »