Despite the high-stakes White House announcement that Israel had agreed to President Donald Trump's 21-point plan to end the Gaza war, the Hamas terror organization has officially cooled the growing optimism, with a senior leader Mahmoud Mardawi dismissing the framework as nothing more than a political stunt favouring Israel. The group stated it has not formally received the proposal and will only respond after a comprehensive review.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera, Mardawi, a senior figure in Hamas's political bureau, initially criticized the context of the war: "What has been happening for two years until now in the Gaza Strip is a barbaric, criminal, and Nazi action by the Israeli enemy, with support from the U.S. This crime and this form of destruction that humanity has not known, we have done everything we can to stop it during the past months and two years."
Mardawi then directly addressed the Trump plan, pouring cold water on the claims of broad acceptance: "Trump’s plan has not reached us, nor any Palestinian party so far. We have not reviewed the plan, but its provisions are close to the Israeli vision." He stated that a written version is essential for any official response: “We will respond to the plan after we receive it.” (Read More)
