HAMAS COULD REMAIN FOR A SHORT PERIOD IF IT DISARMED: TRUMP MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

Sat 22 March 2025:

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has suggested Hamas could remain in Gaza for a short period if it agreed to disarm. But ultimately, he added, Gaza cannot be run by a “terrorist organisation.”

The comments came in a wide-ranging interview that was broadcast late Friday on the YouTube channel of former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson.

“We’re in a negotiation right now to maybe stop some of these Israeli strikes and maybe finish this conflict with dialogue,” Witkoff said of the “bridging proposal” currently being reviewed.

On Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, Witkoff said the negotiators are “well-motivated” and “good, decent people.”

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

Hamas reviewing US ‘bridging proposal’ for Gaza ceasefire

Hamas said on Friday it is reviewing the so-called “bridging proposal” from US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, as Israel intensifies its siege and bombardment of Gaza.

The sticking point for Hamas appears to be the captive swaps, given the US-Israeli proposal aimed to have all the captives held in Gaza released at once.

The Reuters news agency cited a Palestinian official on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity, who said that Egypt also put forward a “bridging proposal” but Hamas had yet to respond. No details were made available.

Katz ordered the army to occupy more areas in the Gaza

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday ordered the army to occupy more areas in the Gaza Strip after expelling Palestinian residents, as Israel resumed its genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave earlier this week, Anadolu reports.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Katz ordered further occupation of Palestinian areas in Gaza under the pretext of protecting Israeli soldiers and communities near Gaza.

“The more Hamas insists on refusing to release the hostages, the more land it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel,” KAN quoted Katz as saying.

He added that the Israeli military operation in Gaza “will escalate until all hostages held by Hamas are freed.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22