TEL AVIV, May 5. /TASS/. Israel rejects the demands of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas to withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and will not accept a situation in which Hamas will reestablish control of the enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"The State of Israel is not willing to accept this. We are not willing to accept a situation in which Hamas's battalions leave their tunnels, reestablish control over the Strip, rebuild their military industries and go back to threatening the citizens of Israel in the communities of the Western Negev, the cities of the south and throughout the country," says the statement released by the prime minister’s office.
Netanyahu stressed that his government is doing its best to see the release of the hostages held in the enclave, maintaining that it is Palestinian radicals who are blocking the talks by making unacceptable demands.
"But while Israel has shown this willingness, Hamas has still held to its extreme positions, first and foremost the withdrawal of our forces from the Strip, the conclusion of the war and leaving Hamas intact," Netanyahu said.
"Capitulating to Hamas's demands would be a terrible defeat for the State of Israel. It would be a great victory for Hamas, Iran and the entire axis of evil. It would exhibit terrible weakness to our friends, and to our enemies," the prime minister added.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank.
At the end of November, a temporary humanitarian truce was established through the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, which lasted for a week, during which time, according to Israel, 110 hostages were released. On December 1, the ceasefire was broken, fighting resumed and has continued since then.