President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that the Hamas terrorist organization has three days to respond to the peace plan he presented, after which Israel will have freedom of action to continue fighting the organization. The president made the remarks to reporters before leaving the White House.
During a gathering of the US military command in Virginia, the president said: "We have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don't sign."
Meanwhile, Turkey will join mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas starting Tuesday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced, after the French news agency reported that Hamas began examining Trump's proposal, which was presented Monday in a meeting with Netanyahu.
Sources told CBS News that Hamas is inclined to quickly accept Trump's ceasefire plan in Gaza. According to a source familiar with the details, they will deliver their response to Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Wednesday.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said that "tonight there will be a meeting between Hamas and a Turkish team to discuss Trump's plan regarding Gaza." Meanwhile, senior Hamas official in Qatar Hussam Badran said the terrorist organization is "open to all ideas and proposals for a solution, but will not compromise on its national principles."
Hamas'sdemands for the framework
Hamas has already submitted to Qatar a series of demands for clarification about Trump's plan, after receiving it officially last night. The draft plan had been in the hands of Hamas leaders since last week, and on Monday, after Netanyahu and Trump's press conference, it was delivered to their senior officials, most of whom are still in Qatar.
According to an Arab diplomatic source from the Gulf, Hamas delivered several demands for clarification. The first – a demand to guarantee the future of its senior leaders from Israeli assassinations in the future. The agreement states that those who express willingness to live in coexistence with Israel will receive amnesty, while regarding the rest, it states they can safely exit to asylum countries, but without Israeli commitment not to harm them.
A second demand was clarification regarding the pace of IDF withdrawal. Hamas previously demanded that hostage release be executed with IDF withdrawal to the perimeter, and the agreement outlined a map of gradual withdrawal in three stages contingent on the agreement's progress. Hamas also sought clarifications on American and international commitment to maintaining the ceasefire after hostage release, and expressed reservations about the complete release of all hostages in the first days (within 72 hours according to Trump's words) after signing.
Hamas claims it will take several days and perhaps weeks before it will be possible to organize the release of all living hostages and bodies. Hamas sought clarifications on when complete withdrawal from the Strip will occur and under what conditions. According to the diplomatic source, Hamas expressed its principled opposition to the issue of surrendering "defensive" weapons, but has not yet announced its final position on the matter.
The Arab diplomatic source states that Hamas' behavior is now hesitant due to the full support of all Arab states for the agreement, including Qatar, and additionally, its second sponsor, Turkey, favors advancing the agreement and is expected to play a more substantial role in the proceedings. The only one remaining with it now is Iran, but it is dealing with its own problems with the activation of the snapback sanctions mechanism. The source estimated that a response would be given within days, a response that would accept many of the agreement's clauses but would demand changes in some, primarily regarding the issue of weapons surrender and the gradualness of the timing of hostage release.
The best outcome that can be achieved
Israeli sources involved in formulating the plan to end the war say that, under existing circumstances, it is the best outcome that could be achieved.
One source noted that Hamas doesn't emerge without achievements from the framework. "They will receive prisoner release, which is an important narrative in Palestinian society. Additionally, Hamas members remaining in Gaza will be able to leave and receive protection. That's a big achievement for them," says one of the sources who was updated on the developing framework back in March.
Another Israeli source familiar with preparing the plan addressed criticism heard from the right and said that even if some think the goal of returning the hostages is in second place, then, in the prime minister's view, the war cannot be ended without achieving it. This is partly to preserve national unity.
According to him, Netanyahu's responsibility as a leader is to take such consideration into account, beyond all other aspects. He emphasized that the framework is good for Israel in the existing reality, achieves the war's objectives, and that only weeks ago it was impossible to imagine we would achieve it.
