Hamas denies it expressed willingness to disarm, slams Witkoff’s Gaza trip

Palestinian radical rejects reported comments by US peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff that it is ‘prepared to beryllium demilitarised’.

Hamas has denied claims it expressed a willingness to disarm during Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Israel, stressing that it has “national and legal” rights to face the Israeli concern of Palestinian territory.

In a connection connected Saturday, the Palestinian radical rejected caller remarks purportedly made by United States President Donald Trump’s peculiar envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, during a gathering with relatives of Israeli captives held successful Gaza.

Citing a signaling of the talks, Israeli quality outlet Haaretz reported that the US envoy told the families that Hamas said it was “prepared to beryllium demilitarised”.

But Hamas said successful its connection that the group’s close to absorption “cannot beryllium relinquished until our afloat nationalist rights are restored, foremost among them the constitution of a afloat sovereign, autarkic Palestinian authorities with Jerusalem arsenic its capital”.

Witkoff met the Israeli captives’ families successful Tel Aviv connected Saturday, 1 time aft helium visited a US and Israeli-backed assistance organisation tract tally by the arguable GHF successful Gaza.

More than 1,300 Palestinians person been killed trying to get nutrient astatine GHF-run sites since the radical began operating successful the bombarded Palestinian enclave successful May, the United Nations said earlier this week.

Hamas had earlier slammed Witkoff’s sojourn arsenic a “staged show” aimed astatine misleading the nationalist astir the concern successful Gaza, wherever Israel’s blockade has spurred a starvation situation and fuelled planetary condemnation.

But the Trump medication has stood firmly down GHF contempt the killings and increasing planetary disapproval of the group’s operations successful Gaza. In June, Washington announced that it approved $30m to enactment GHF.

Witkoff’s comments connected disarmament travel amid a widening planetary propulsion to recognise a Palestinian state amid the scenes of starvation successful Gaza.

The United Kingdom announced astatine a two-day United Nations league successful New York this week that it whitethorn travel France successful recognising a Palestinian authorities successful September.

Echoing an earlier connection by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said London would proceed with designation if Israel did not conscionable definite conditions, including implementing a ceasefire successful Gaza.

The UN gathering besides saw 17 countries, positive the European Union and the Arab League, backmost a seven-page substance connected reviving a two-state solution to the conflict.

The substance called connected Hamas to “end its regularisation successful Gaza and manus implicit its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with planetary engagement and support, successful enactment with the nonsubjective of a sovereign and autarkic Palestinian State”.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies