HAMAS leader in Gaza to reject deal with Israel without due guarantees — WSJ
According to the newspaper’s sources, Yahya Sinwar’s primary objective is to release hundreds or even thousands of Palestinians from Israeli prisons in exchange for hostages held by HAMAS
NEW YORK, May 3. /TASS/. The top leader of Palestine’s radical movement HAMAS in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, will not accept a ceasefire deal with Israel if it does not contain "a credible path to ending the war," the Wall Street Journal wrote.
According to the newspaper’s sources, Sinwar’s primary objective is to release hundreds or even thousands of Palestinians from Israeli prisons in exchange for hostages held by HAMAS. He expects the deal to end the war and ensure Hamas’s survival, and is expected to reject any deal that doesn’t include "a credible path to ending the war," the article says. The movement also demands international guarantees for a ceasefire. At the same time, Hamas believes that the current group of guarantor nations - Egypt, Qatar and the United States - is not enough, the newspaper quoted mediators as saying.
Officials mediating a ceasefire deal added that it was hard to negotiate with both Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netantyahu.
"He only has one aim and that’s his political survival and that dictates everything. And that means there won’t be any cease-fire-hostage deal if it’s up to him," the Wall Street Jouranl quoted Alon Pinkas, a former senior Israeli diplomat, as saying. "He’s in a bind right now."
Meanwhile, Sinwar believes that he has already won the war, regardless of whether he manages to survive it or not, "by opening the world’s eyes to the suffering of Palestinians and bringing the conflict to the forefront of global affairs."
They added that in the long-term perspective, the HAMAS leader in Gaza expects to lift Israel’s siege on Gaza, end Israeli military pressure and secure the survival of his movement.
On April 27, Egypt had handed over to Hamas a proposal, agreed upon with the Israeli side, that provided for the release of from 20 to 40 hostages held by radicals in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a ceasefire in the enclave. According to an Al-Qahera al-Ekhbariya source, the deal with Israel is likely to be reached "within several days, even despite some reservations.".