Hamas has agreed to 3 points of Trump’s 20-point plan ahead of meetings in Cairo
Despite Hamas not agreeing completely to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, the president said Sunday that “very positive discussions” had occurred between Hamas and Arab and Muslim countries.
“There have been very positive discussions with Hamas, and Countries from all over the World (Arab, Muslim, and everyone else) this weekend, to release the Hostages, end the War in Gaza but, more importantly, finally have long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump wrote to his Truth Social platform.
This statement echoed comments he made to reporters before attending the 250th anniversary celebration of the U.S. Navy, where he said that countries surrounding Israel had “some very good meetings” with Hamas and suggested the hostages could be released “very quickly.”
“I think it’s going to go very quickly. We’ll let you know soon,” Trump said.
The reporters could be heard asking President Trump about the deadline he had set for Hamas, a point which the president did not respond to.
On Oct. 4, President Trump posted a note to Truth saying, “I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed. Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again.”
President Trump also posted a longer message to Truth Social, in which he called Hamas “a ruthless and violent threat” to the Middle East, while giving them a deadline of 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday to reach an agreement, threatening that “all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”
President Trump has previously threatened Hamas in similar ways, however, those deadlines have similarly passed without apparent consequence.
Meanwhile, Hamas senior official Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday morning for meetings with mediators from Egypt and Qatar ahead of the indirect talks with Israeli negotiators.
Hamas has stated that it is willing to release the living hostages in one release, but claimed it will need time to locate the remains of the deceased hostages.
At the same time, senior Hamas political bureau official, Mahmoud al-Mardawi, denied reports that the group is willing to surrender its weapons, calling the claims “fabricated” and “baseless.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aaty told Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that the disarmament of Hamas is a “Palestinian issue that will be dealt with within the Palestinian framework.”
Hamas has only agreed to three points of the Trump plan: the release of hostages in an exchange with Palestinian security prisoners, the surrender of administrative authority over Gaza, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Meanwhile, Israel has said that it will not accept any agreement that leaves Hamas in power in Gaza.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Hamas will be disarmed and the Strip demilitarized. This will happen either via a diplomatic route according to the Trump Plan — or via a military route by us.”
This article was originally published at All Israel News
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