ALBAWABA - On Saturday, Hossam Badran, a high-ranking Hamas official, said that the group will not take part in the signing ceremony for the Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel, which will take place in Egypt.
Badran told AFP from Doha that the event would only have mediators and officials from the U.S. and Israel. He stressed that Hamas would not be there to sign the agreement.
“Hamas will not participate in the signing process. Only the mediators and the American and Israeli officials will attend,” Badran stated.
Hamas Warns of Response if Hostilities Resume
Badran said that Hamas would respond to any Israeli aggression if fighting broke out again. He also said that the next stage of negotiations would be harder and more complicated than the current one.
“The second stage of Trump’s plan clearly includes many complications and difficulties. It will likely require longer and tougher negotiations,” he added.
Leadership Exit “Out of the Question”
The senior Hamas official also said that rumors that Hamas leaders might have to leave Gaza as part of the agreement were "nonsense."
The U.S. helped make the Gaza agreement, and Egypt helped mediate it. Its goal is to end months of fighting between Hamas and Israel. But the movement's choice to skip the signing ceremony shows how fragile trust is and how many problems are still not solved with the deal.
