Palestine Hamas Supreme Leader "Formal Review of Ceasefire"

Proposal for Paris Quadruple Meeting with US and Others
"Israeli Military Withdrawal from Gaza Strip Must Precede"

The top leader of the Palestinian armed faction Hamas announced that they are formally considering a ceasefire.

Ismail Haniyeh, Political Bureau Chief of the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 30th (local time), Ismail Haniyeh, the political bureau chief of Hamas, stated in a press release that they would formally accept and review the ceasefire proposal suggested at the France Paris quadrilateral (United States, Israel, Qatar, Egypt) meeting. He said, "Hamas's top priority is the cessation of Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of troops," adding, "We are open to all initiatives that can make this happen." He also mentioned plans to visit Cairo, Egypt, to discuss the ceasefire proposal.

On the 28th and 29th in Paris, France, William Burns, Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), David Barnea, Director of Israel's Mossad, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, and Abbas Kamel, Director of Egypt's General Intelligence Directorate (GNI), met to discuss ceasefire and hostage release plans.

The four countries announced that they had communicated the ceasefire and hostage release proposals made at the Paris meeting to Hamas. However, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups such as the Islamic Jihad (PIJ) maintain the position that the release of hostages is only possible if the Israeli military stops its attacks on the Gaza Strip and withdraws its troops first.

As a result, some have interpreted that the quadrilateral meeting's ceasefire proposal, reportedly centered on a temporary ceasefire of one to two months and the release of hostages and detainees, was effectively rejected.

However, after the Paris meeting, Al-Thani, the Qatari Prime Minister who visited the United States, said in a discussion hosted by the think tank Atlantic Council that "there has been good progress" regarding the negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also evaluated, "There has been very important and productive work. And genuine hope is visible."

Meanwhile, according to local media such as the Times of Israel, Secretary Blinken will visit Israel again from November 3 to 5. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, Secretary Blinken has visited Israel a total of five times. During his most recent visit, he proposed a ceasefire plan linked to the normalization of Israel-Saudi relations and the establishment of a Palestinian state. However, the ultra-hardline right-wing Israeli government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu maintains the position of continuing the fight until achieving goals such as the annihilation of Hamas, the return of hostages, and the removal of security threats originating from the Gaza Strip.