NNA - The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) issued the following press statement : "The statement issued by the office of the terrorist occupation Prime Minister Netanyahu, regarding his approval of American proposals to extend the first phase of the agreement under arrangements that contradict the Gaza ceasefire agreement, is an exposed attempt to evade the agreement and avoid entering negotiations for its second phase.
Netanyahu's decision to halt humanitarian aid is a cheap form of blackmail, a war crime, and a blatant violation of the agreement. Mediators and the international community must act to pressure the occupation and stop its punitive and immoral actions against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.
The war criminal Netanyahu is attempting to impose political realities on the ground that his fascist army has failed to establish over fifteen months of brutal genocide due to the steadfastness and bravery of our people and their resistance. He seeks to overturn the signed agreement to serve his narrow internal political interests at the expense of the occupation prisoners in Gaza and their lives.
The terrorist occupation’s claims that the movement has violated the ceasefire agreement are baseless and misleading. They are a failed attempt to cover up its daily and systematic violations of the agreement, which have resulted in the martyrdom of more than a hundred of our people in Gaza, as well as the obstruction of the humanitarian protocol, the prevention of shelter and relief supplies, and the deepening of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
We also affirm that Netanyahu and his government’s actions clearly violate Article 14 of the agreement, which states that all measures related to the first phase will continue into the second phase and that the guarantors will make every effort to ensure negotiations continue until an agreement on the terms of the second phase is reached.
We call on the U.S. administration to cease its bias and alignment with the fascist schemes of the war criminal Netanyahu, which target our people and their existence on their land. We reaffirm that all projects and schemes that bypass our people, their inalienable rights, self-determination, and liberation from occupation are doomed to fail and collapse.
We reaffirm our commitment to implementing the signed agreement in all three phases. We have repeatedly declared our readiness to begin negotiations for the second phase of the agreement.
We call on the mediators to pressure the occupation to fulfill its obligations under the agreement in all its phases, implement the humanitarian protocol, and allow the entry of shelter materials and rescue equipment into Gaza.
The war criminal Netanyahu and his extremist government bear full responsibility for obstructing the progress of the agreement or any reckless action they may take to overturn it, including the humanitarian consequences related to the occupation captives in Gaza.
We affirm that the only path to retrieving the occupation prisoners is adherence to the agreement, immediate entry into negotiations for the second phase, and the occupation’s commitment to fulfilling its obligations." --- Hamas Media Office
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