US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has rejected Hamas’s response to a US-Israeli Gaza ceasefire proposal, calling it “totally unacceptable.”
Hamas responded to the 13-point proposal by offering amendments, including a guarantee for a permanent ceasefire, a change to the timeline on the release of Israeli captives, and reinserted language that said Hamas would cede power to an independent Palestinian committee.
“I received the Hamas response to the United States’ proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward,” Witkoff wrote on X on Saturday. “Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week.”
Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official based in Turkey, rejected Witkoff’s characterization, saying that Hamas had agreed to an earlier US proposal that was then changed by Israel.
“We did not reject Mr. Witkoff’s proposal. We agreed with him on a proposal, which he deemed acceptable for negotiation. We then received the other party’s response (the Israelis) through Mr. Witkoff, which rejected all that we had agreed upon with him,” Naim told Drop Site News.
Under the Israeli proposal that Hamas received, the Palestinian group would release 10 Israeli captives and the bodies of 18 Israelis within the first week of a 60-day truce. Hamas wanted a stronger guarantee that the 60-day truce would be upheld and proposed releasing the 10 hostages and 18 bodies throughout the ceasefire and completing it on the 60th day.
“Witkoff’s insistence on releasing all the captives in the first week shows ill intention. Based on previous experience, the Israelis will simply return to full-scale war and sabotage the rest of the agreement,” a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations told Middle East Eye.
Since Hamas’s main demand has been a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal, its proposal included stronger language to that end. It says that on the first day of the ceasefire, “indirect negotiations will begin under the auspices of the mediators guaranteeing the permanent ceasefire.”
Regarding long-term plans for Gaza, the Hamas proposal says an “independent technocratic committee will immediately assume management of all affairs of the Gaza Strip upon the start of the agreement’s implementation, with full authority and responsibilities,” meaning Hamas would no longer be the governing authority, although the group would remain armed.
According to Drop Site, the language about the committee taking over Gaza was included in the original US proposal but was removed from the Israeli one.
The Palestinian source speaking to Middle East Eye said Hamas feels “betrayed” by Witkoff since he didn’t uphold previous agreements. “First, when Israel violated the US-guaranteed deal on 2 March by imposing an embargo on aid and then resuming full-scale war on 18 March – with the full support and cover of Witkoff and the US administration,” the source said.
“And second, when Hamas released an American-Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander, in good faith, expecting humanitarian relief and a shift in the negotiating approach – which clearly did not happen,” the official added.
Hamas has said it’s ready to continue indirect negotiations with Israel to reach a deal. In the meantime, the US continues to fully back Israel’s genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip.
