Hours after President Donald Trump threatened Hamas, it offered a statement indicating it supported most of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, while leaving itself room on certain provisions.
In a Friday post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time. Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”
That led to a Friday statement from Hamas offering support for the concepts of the plan, such as releasing hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, but indicating more talks are needed before offering a full-throated acceptance of the plan, according to the Associated Press.
Hamas said it was ready to free hostages “according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal, and as the field conditions for the exchange are met,” according to The New York Times. It did not explain what it meant by “field conditions.”
Trump wanted Hamas to give up power. The Hamas statement said it agreed “to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.”
Hamas said there should be discussions among Palestinians over issues “relating to the future of the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people.”
“Hamas will be a part” of that discussion and “will contribute responsibly” to it, the terrorist group’s statement said.
The statement did not address Trump’s demand that Hamas disarm.
Hamas “affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss the details of this agreement,” it said in a statement on Friday, according to NBC.
As noted by The Washington Post, Hamas said it was taking this step “in order to achieve a cessation of hostilities and a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.”
The statement also said Hamas “appreciates the Arab, Islamic, and international efforts, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump, calling for an end to the war on the Gaza Strip, a prisoner exchange, the immediate entry of aid, the rejection of the occupation of the Gaza Strip, and the displacement of our Palestinian people from it.”
The Trump administration had not issued an official response to the statement as of Friday evening.
Trump posted the Hamas statement on Truth Social without any comment upon it.
In a post on X, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared an image of Trump in the Oval Office and framed the development as “Hamas’ acceptance of his Peace Plan.”
A report in the The Times of Israel said that Hamas is hedging on the part of Trump’s plan requiring a speedy handover of the living hostages and the bodies of the dead, with Hamas saying it does not know where all the bodies are located.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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