 "US President Donald Trump. File Image / Reuters")
After Hamas violated the deadline to respond to his proposal to end the war in the Gaza Strip , US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Hamas has until 6 pm on Sunday to accept the proposal.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said it was the “last chance” for Hamas to accept the proposal. He said the rejection of the proposal or lack of response would mean that “all hell like no one has ever seen before will break out against Hamas”.
Previously, Trump on Tuesday said that Hamas would have three to four days to respond to the proposal.
Trump repeated his previous statement that Israel had accepted the proposal, saying that Middle Eastern nations “together with the United States of America, have agreed, with Israel signing on, to peace” in the region.
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However, just hours after Trump first said Israel was onboard with the proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced that Israeli military would remain in most of Gaza and he would continue to oppose the Palestinian state — both of these assertions violated Trump’s 20-point agreement.
‘You will be hunted down & killed’: Trump’s warning to Hamas
In his Truth Social post, Trump warned Hamas that he knows where most of the remaining Hamas terrorists are, and they would be hunted down and killed at his go-ahead. He said the only condition he would spare them would be if Hamas would accept his Gaza proposal.
Trump said, “As retribution for the October 7th attack on civilization, more than 25,000 Hamas ‘soldiers’ have already been killed. Most of the rest are surrounded and militarily trapped, just waiting for me to give the word, ‘go’, for their lives to be quickly extinguished. As for the rest, we know where and who you are, and you will be hunted down and killed.”
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More ShortsTrump said that Hamas has until 6 pm (Washington DC time) on Sunday to accept the proposal.
“Every Country has signed on! If this last chance agreement is not reached, all hell like no one has ever seen before will break out against Hamas. There will be peace in the Middle East one way or the other,” said Trump.
ALSO READ: Muslim countries join Europe in backing Trump’s Gaza plan ousting Hamas, restoring PA rule
However, there have been reports that Hamas could in its response seek certain amendments to the proposal. Observers have said that Hamas would not likely easily accept the plan as it calls for its disarmament and ouster from power in Gaza.
But has Israel really accepted Trump’s proposal?
Trump has said that Israel has accepted his proposal and it is up to Hamas to accept it now to close the deal. But Israel’s position is far from clear.
Just hours after Trump released the plan, Netanyahu walked back on two of the most important points of the proposal .
In a statement in Hebrew, Netanyahu said the Israeli military “will remain in most of the Gaza Strip”, as per AFP.
On the question of Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu said, “Not at all, and it is not written in the agreement. One thing was made clear: We will strongly oppose a Palestinian state.”
Both of these assertions were in violation of Trump’s Gaza proposal.
Trump’s proposal released a map that showed that Israel will gradually withdraw from the majority of Gaza. The map showed that there will just be a small buffer zone on the Gazan side of the Israel-Gaza border upon the completion of the phased withdrawal.
Trump’s plan explicitly said that “Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza”.
Moreover, Trump’s proposal mentioned a pathway for Palestinian statehood.
With progress in Gaza’s redevelopment and the handover of the strip to the reformed Palestinian Authority (PA), “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people”, Trump’s plan said.