Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the movement is working with several other parties to reach an agreement with Israel for establishing a truce in return for lifting the siege on Gaza.
"Today, in order to break the siege, we are seeking understandings with several parties … understandings that could bring calm for breaking the siege," Haniyeh said in a speech broadcast to the 10th conference of Jerusalem's Pioneers held in Turkey's Istanbul.
However, he added that it "wouldn't have any political prices at the expense of the Palestinian unity between the West Bank and Gaza. Our responsibility is to ensure a dignified life for our people."
Haniyeh's speech defied the Palestinian Authority, which rejected any attempts to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip, and required intra-Palestinian reconciliation first.
The PA-Hamas dispute first erupted following the Gaza-ruling party insistence on a truce first. The PA criticized all parties endorsing Hamas’ side at talks, especially after Israel allowed a UN body transport fuel into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing.
Palestinian officials have slammed Israel and Qatar, vowing to fight back against efforts to further drive Gaza away from the West Bank-based PA.
West Bank officials say that Qatar and Israel negotiating with Hamas separately works against collective Palestinian interest, and betrays the Palestinian cause by empowering the militant group to go on withholding Gaza captive and not move away from intra-Palestinian reconciliation.
On the other hand, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) informed the UN chief that Nickolay Mladenov has overstepped his role as Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process by pursuing negotiations with Hamas and trying to recruit aid into the Gaza Strip from other Arab countries.
PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Ahmed Majdalan said Mladenov “is no longer acceptable to the state of Palestine,” local media reported.
The PA is expected to soon take decisions to completely halt Gaza's funding, in response to Hamas's insistence on prioritized a truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip at the expense of reconciliation.
Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat questioned the drivers behind Hamas’ sudden willingness to open up for truce mediation efforts with Israel, pointing to the recent US defunding of UNRWA.
Erekat warned that the strategy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump is based on dividing Palestinian unity in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem, and dealing with Gaza as a humanitarian situation.
“We are facing a terrible American-Israeli plot to destroy and liquidate the Palestinian national project,” Erekat warned.
