Hamas slammed President Biden for allegedly making “misleading” remarks after he accused the terror group of suddenly “backing away” from a cease-fire deal that Israel had agreed to.
Speaking before the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, Biden said the US and Israel were committed to seeking a truce in Gaza and to free the remaining 109 hostages, but noted that “Hamas is now backing off.”
The terror group claimed Biden’s remarks “do not reflect the true position” of the stalled negotiations, accusing the US of showing bias for Israel and giving an “American green light for the Zionist extremist government to commit more crimes against defenseless civilians.”
Hamas says it, too, wants a cease-fire deal to go through, but only one that reflects Biden’s original plan outlined in May, which called for a de-escalation of violence in Gaza.
The terrorists, who skipped out on the negotiations last week, allege that the framework for the cease-fire agreement has been altered since then to favor Israel, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being behind the changes.
“Netanyahu was always the one obstructing an agreement and setting new conditions and demands,” Hamas officials said in a statement.
The US-backed proposal seeks to impose a six-week pause in fighting so as to enable Israel and Hamas to discuss a hostage exchange, all while allowing more Palestinians to return to their homes and receive additional aid.
Hamas had responded to the proposal by altering it to include wording for a permanent end to the war, a condition Israel has rejected as Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the battles will only end once the terror group is destroyed.
The terror group has also found issue with a new demand from Israel requesting that it be allowed to keep a presence along the Gaza-Egypt border, where large terror tunnel systems have recently been found.
Hamas rejected the condition, noting that previous cease-fire agreements called for a complete IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu has insisted that the IDF’s presence along the border was necessary for security reasons despite Israeli negotiators allegedly telling him that his demands were dooming the deal, according to local public broadcaster Kan.
The prime minister has insisted that he will stick to his demands in future negotiations as he continues to face growing pressure from Israeli officials and citizens to do whatever it takes to free the hostages, 36 of whom are believed to be dead.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid is among the most vocal critics, who demanded action after IDF soldiers retrieved the bodies of six Israeli hostages, one of whom was previously believed to still be alive.
“Enough with the briefings, enough with the tweets,” Lapid said in a statement. “All of Netanyahu’s attempts to sabotage the negotiations should stop. A deal now, before they all die.”
With Post wires
