The initiative is sponsored by the US, Qatar, Turkey, Hamas says; PA officials say the Egyptian cease-fire proposal is only initiative on the table for now.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHHamas members are seen close up during a press conference in the Gaza Strip last week.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip on Saturday published their initiative for a cease-fire with Israel.The initiative, which was backed by Qatar, calls for an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire, the lifting of the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip eight years ago and the release of Palestinians who were arrested by Israel in recent weeks in the West Bank.According to the website Al-Arabi al-Jadeed, Qatar has delivered the initiative to US Secretary of State John Kerry, who, in turn, relayed it to Israel.It claimed that the initiative has been sponsored by the US, Qatar and Turkey.The initiative calls for activating the port in the Gaza Strip to allow goods and fuel to enter the area. It also calls for an end to the “economic and financial sanctions” imposed on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.Hamas did not comment on the report.However, several Hamas-affiliated media outlets published the report, indicating that the movement has endorsed it.Hamas officials were quoted over the past few days as saying that they would like to see a larger role for Qatar and Turkey in any cease-fire deal.But Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah said that the Egyptian cease-fire proposal was the only initiative on the table for now.Some officials claimed that Qatar and Turkey were responsible for Hamas’s rejection of the Egyptian cease-fire plan.