AFP
Hamas on Tuesday condemned claims by US President Joe Biden that it was backing away from a Gaza truce deal, calling his remarks a “green light” for Israel to continue the war.
The “misleading claims … do not reflect the true position of the movement, which is keen to reach a ceasefire” agreement, the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.
It called Biden’s remarks – which were made on Tuesday as the US president prepared to leave Chicago after a keynote address to the Democratic National Convention – an “American green light for the Zionist extremist government to commit more crimes against defenceless civilians”.
The statement came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Egypt on Tuesday for talks on a Gaza ceasefire.
Blinken, who met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, will afterwards head to Qatar, which along with Egypt is brokering negotiations for a truce in the 10-month-old conflict.
Hamas said Biden’s remarks reflect a clear “American bias” towards Israel and Washington’s complicity in the “war of extermination against defenceless civilians in the Gaza Strip”.
The group said it is committed to a ceasefire framework outlined by Biden on May 31 which he said had been proposed by Israel.
It described the latest US modifications to that plan as “a coup against” the previous framework, accusing Washington of “acquiescing” to conditions set by Netanyahu.
“Netanyahu was always the one obstructing an agreement and setting new conditions and demands,” Hamas said, calling on “the US administration to reverse its policy of blind bias towards the Zionist war criminals.”
It called on the “mediators to assume their responsibilities” and oblige Israel to accept the original proposal.