Hamas rejects Egypt’s call for ceasefire

The Palestinian Hamas group controlling the Gaza Strip has rejected an Egyptian ceasefire initiative, deeming it a call for submission, the armed wing of the group said in statements on Tuesday.

“No official or unofficial party has come to us with the content of this ceasefire initiative,” read a tweet from the official account of the Qassam Brigades, the military branch of Hamas. “If the content of this initiative is verified, that it would be an initiative of submission and bowing. We reject it entirely and for us, it is not worth the ink it was written with.” 

“Our battle with the enemy continues and will increase in ferocity. We shall be loyal to the blood of our martyrs,” the statement continued.

Reuters news agency meanwhile reported Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, as also saying that no officials had addressed them with the proposal. He added that weapons won’t be put down so long as demands are not met, including a lifting of the blockade on Gaza.

Meanwhile, Moussa Abou Marzouk, a Hamas spokesman in Cairo said on his Twitter account on Tuesday that the group is still deliberating over the proposal. 

Khaled Batsh, a leader in the Islamic Jihad group, was quoted by the state-run Middle East News Agency as saying they are studying the Egyptian proposal. "We welcome Egypt's role because without Egypt we cannot have any political gains in this phase," he stated. 

The initiative in question was announced by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Monday, and it called on both Israel and Palestinian factions halt all attacks, the former in the form of sea, land and air attacks and the latter in the former of border attacks and rockets targeting citizens.

The initiative also includes a call for all border crossings to open for the passage and movement of persons and goods, conditional upon the restoration of security on the ground. No special mention was made to Egypt’s commitment to easing access along the Rafah border crossing, which it manages.

The initiative called for the ceasefire to kick off on Tuesday with unconditional acceptance by both sides. Forty eight hours into the ceasefire, high-profile Israeli and Palestinian delegations will be invited to Cairo to conclude “confidence building measures”, with talks held with each side separately.

Meanwhile, Israel approved Egypt’s call for ceasefire. According to Reuters, an Israeli Cabinet convention led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in favor of the truce deal.

The Israeli army official Twitter account declared on Tuesday that, “Israel's leadership has directed our forces to suspend strikes in Gaza. We remain prepared to respond to Hamas attacks and defend Israel.”

Reuters also quotes senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad as saying that the proposal from Egypt is accepted now that Hamas has been weakened by the air and sea bombings.

Egypt’s mediation brought back to mind ousted President Mohamed Morsi direct intervention in the wake of another Israeli attack in Gaza in November 2012. Back then, Morsi was said to have used ties between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hamas leadership to pressure the latter into accepting the truce. Morsi had sent Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to Gaza in what was seen as a high-profile move of mediation from Egypt, while the success of the truce garnered Morsi widespread international recognition. With the ouster of Morsi, and the take-over of a pro-military government in Egypt, relations with Hamas have frozen and arguably soured.

The Israeli attacks on Gaza have started last week in retaliation for the murder of three Israeli students in the West Bank, over which no clear responsibility by Hamas was identified.